


Recrudescence

by imagentmichigan



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Fake AH Crew, Female Jack, M/M, MTF Jack Pattillo, trans!Jack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-04-28 14:59:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5094974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagentmichigan/pseuds/imagentmichigan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan couldn't believe what he was seeing. He wasn't sure if it was the loss of blood, or if the man before him was really there, looking down with a concerned gaze. Ryan's vision began fading as he felt hands pulling him up and towards a stretcher, but all he could focus on was the man standing a few feet away, frozen as the look of concern grew deeper. "Gavin?" Ryan whispered in confusion as his eyes closed, no longer able to keep them open.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Ryan couldn't believe what he was seeing. He wasn't sure if it was the loss of blood, or if the man before him was really there, looking down with a concerned gaze. Ryan's vision began fading as he felt hands pulling him up and towards a stretcher, but all he could focus on was the man standing a few feet away, frozen as the look of concern grew deeper. "Gavin?" Ryan whispered in confusion as his eyes closed, no longer able to keep them open. 

...

"Ryan, lovely Ryan, could you get me a cup of tea?" Gavin asked from the couch, grinning as he looked over the back. 

Ryan sighed as he looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. "You're literally a few feet from the kitchen, why can't you get up and get it yourself?" Ryan asked as he crossed his arms, smirking. 

Gavin pouted, putting his chin on his hands as they rested on the back of the couch. "But Ryyyyyan, you're already up and heading that way! Plus, you make it just how I like it. Please?" Gavin asked, smiling once more. Ryan rolled his eyes, nodding as he heading into the kitchen. 

He walked over to the cupboard and pulling out the purple mug in there, smirking at the image of golden sunglasses on the side of it. He wasn't surprised when Gavin burst through the door to the penthouse months ago, presenting them all with the custom mug as he held it proudly. Geoff had burst out laughing as Jack smiled in appreciation at it, Michael had threaten to "throw that ugly thing at the wall if you ever use it anywhere near me Gavin, I swear to fucking GOD," while Ray just gave a non-committal grunt and went back to his video game. Ryan himself had found the mug one of the most adorably Gavin things ever, and just smiled as he looked away, chuckling softly. 

Ryan set about to making the tea just as Gavin liked it, having seen him make it countless times. When he was done, he grabbed out the can of Diet Coke that he'd originally come in for, and let the kitchen to return to the living room. Gavin's eyes were glued to the screen as he watched the movie playing and he leaned over and held the cup in front of his face. "Aww, thank you Rye-bread! You even put it in my favorite cup." Gavin hummed as he took the cup, holding it close to himself before he took a drink. Ryan just laughed softly, heading back to his room to finish the book he was reading. 

Hours later, Ryan looked up as he heard his door creak open, and raised an eyebrow as Gavin entered the room. "Did you need something?" He asked as Gavin sat on the bed next to him.

"Nah, just wanted to see what you were up to." He murmured, settling in as he looked over the book Ryan was holding. "What're you reading?" 

"Nothing at the moment, I just finished it." Ryan said as he closed the book, setting it onto the side table. "What're you really in here for?" He asked. Ryan knew Gavin well enough to see he had something on his mind, years of living in small quarters with six other people did. You tended to pick up on things like that. 

Gavin bit his lip, looking over at the wall and away from Ryan. "Where do you see yourself in five years, Ryan?" 

The question took him aback, and he frowned. "Either dead or right here. Why?" 

Gavin only shrugged, looking down at his hands. "I don't know, I just started thinking, you know? I mean, we're all rich enough to where we could all stop now and never have to work a day in our lives, right? And thinking about that started making me wonder if we'll ever retire. Will we always be right here, fighting for more power and money until the day we die young and in a blaze of glory, or will one day will we all just decide to stop and go off and do other things?" Gavin mumbled quietly, seeming to be lost in another world. 

Ryan wasn't sure how to respond to that, because he'd never actually thought about it. In his mind, this was it, this was the end. He didn't do any of this for the money or the power, he did it all for the thrill, and he knew he'd be here until the day he died or that thrill disappeared, and then he'd probably only go off in search of something else to get that rush of adrenaline that he craved for so much. "Are you high right now?" He asked, and he kicked himself for it as soon as the words left his mouth. 

Gavin's head snapped back to him, and Ryan saw a look there that he couldn't decipher. As fast as it appeared though, it vanished once more as Gavin began laughing. "Nah, I'm just...curious, y'know? But I guess it doesn't matter." Gavin hummed, and Ryan looked away. 

"Well, where do you see yourself in five years?" He asked in return, his own curiosity growing as he glanced over at the clock. 

He turned his head back as he heard Gavin make a noise of contemplation. "I'm not sure. I'd hope to be sitting right here though." The last words made Ryan's stomach twist and his heart beat faster at the implications of what was said, but he didn't respond in return. 

Ryan looked over Gavin's face, soft and smiling as he looked back, and his heart beat even faster. He could just lean over and kiss him, could just finally end this dance they'd been doing around each other for months now, could just give in right now. But he didn't, because it wasn't the right time. After a few moments of silence though, he saw Gavin's smile start to falter a little, but before he could get a good look or even say anything, the other moved away, hopping off the bed and stretching. 

"Well, I guess it's pretty late. Should head to bed, right?" Gavin said cheerfully, heading to the door. "Goodb-night, Ryan." Gavin left the room, a cloud of confusion taking his place. 

Ryan blinked as he saw the door shut behind him, but he just shook his head, reaching over for the next book he'd planned to read.

The next day however, found Ryan standing in an empty room, his heart torn as he glanced over at the note crumpled onto the floor in the corner where he'd thrown it. He'd walked in this morning, a cup of tea in his hand for Gavin since no one had seen him come from his room yet. When he'd taken in the room, too clean, too empty, and a note laying on the bed he'd dropped the cup and ran over to the note. 

He clenched and unclenched his hands as he stood in the middle of it all, wondering why, how could he just pack up and leave them all? Ryan looked back over to the cup laying on the floor in the doorway, spilled tea over the hardwood floor and a piece of glass chipped off of the mug. He thought back to the note, his eyes closing. How would everyone else react to this? Ryan opened his eyes once more as he walked over to the note, flattening it once more as he picked it back up and setting it on the bed once more for someone else to read. 

Ryan picked up the mug from the floor, running a finger over the chip in it now. Maybe he could fix it, save it for when Gavin came back...if he came back. This was his favorite cup, after all. He picked up the pieces of the cup before heading into his room, slamming the door behind him and locking it. He realized now that when Gavin left his room the night before, he hadn't simply just flubbed his words, he'd only corrected himself when he almost said goodbye. Ryan wished now that he'd kissed him when he'd had the chance. Maybe then Gavin would have found something to stay for.

...

It was two years after Gavin left them that night. Two years since he'd heard anything from the other man, though he would hear things from time to time from Burnie or Geoff so he knew he was still alive at least. Since then, things had changed a bit. Ray had moved out of the penthouse and left the crew, though he still did jobs with them from time to time and visited often enough that they didn't feel abandoned. Michael had gotten married. Geoff and Jack stayed the same for the most part, though Geoff always faltered on occasions when he heard something that he knew Gavin would like, and even though no one else really noticed, Ryan did. 

Ryan himself had moved out in an attempt to distance himself from the others. He spent some nights at the penthouse, when they stayed up late working on a heist or planning a complicated hit, or if it was late and the penthouse was closer than his own apartment across town and he wanted to see everyone. For the most part though, he stayed in his own apartment, keeping to himself. For the first few months he was there, he didn't have a distraction and his mind always seemed to shift to Gavin at one point or another. 

At first Ryan was angry at Gavin for having left them with nothing more than a note saying that he wanted to go out and try new things on his own, angry for never having told him or anyone else where he was going, how long he'd be gone. Six months in he just started to feel a little lonely without Gavin, without having someone there to share funny things with, without having hypotheticals being thrown his way at every turn. He missed Gavin, and he just felt a little empty and hoped he'd be back soon. 

A year after Gavin left, Ryan accepted that he'd never see him again, and he decided he shouldn't care anymore. He'd still think about Gavin from time to time, and every time he saw that chipped, purple mug in his cabinets he'd feel a twinge in his heart, but that was pretty much it. So, when the two year mark came around, he didn't even notice, didn't even stop to think about it. He didn't let himself care. 

...

"So, how big of a heist are we talking? What's the estimated takeaway?" Ryan asked as everyone was sat around the table, listening to Geoff. 

"About five million, which is why I'm calling in a few people to help. Ray's gonna be helping out on the sniper side, offering cover fire with Jeremy for when the police show up. Jack's gonna have a cargo bob ready to pick us up after we leave in the getaway vehicles, and we'll be meeting her on the top of this building." Geoff pointed to the map where there was a black X on the screen. Michael and Ryan will be on crowd control, while Lindsay and myself will be taking from the vault. Now, to do this, we need someone handling the tech, so I called someone in. They're pretty new to the whole tech thing, but Burnie assures me that they're one of the best despite that. They're flying in now and will stay at base to set everything up and during the heist, they'll be able to open the vault after hacking into the system. I've also been assured that they're gonna delete all footage from the bank and as much as they can from the videos around the city so we won't be tracked as easily." Geoff answered, looking around the room. 

Michael sat up and leaned forward, furrowing his brow. "Wait, they're FLYING in? Jesus, where is this person from??" He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Geoff sighed, putting down the pen. "It's not really important where they're from, it's more important that the skills they have don't fuck us over."

"Yeah, but you couldn't find anyone nearby? Like seriously." Michael sighed as well and sat back, looking up at Geoff expectantly. 

"Alright, does anyone have any questions on what they'll be doing?" Geoff asked, looking around the room. 

Ryan tuned out at that point, letting his mind wander a bit. He wondered who it was that would be working tech for them, but at the same time he didn't really care at all. It's not like he'd ever see them, it's not like he would ever talk to them. And he liked it that way. All Ryan could do is hope the guy didn't fuck them over in the end. 

When the meeting ended, Ryan stood up and grabbed a diet coke before heading to the living room where he, Lindsay, and Michael had laid out their guns to clean them. He took a seat on the couch as Michael pulled up a chair and Lindsay sat next to him, each picking up a gun and taking it apart. They sat in silence for awhile as they cleaned their guns, and Lindsay was the first to speak up. "So, who do you think this mystery person is?" She asked, looking up at Michael. 

"Not sure, but if they fuck anything up I'm gonna fucking kill them. Burnie better have the right intel and the guy better be good." Michael responded as he set down a piece and picked up another to clean. 

"I just hope they're not an asshole, y'know? I deal with enough of you assholes anyway." She hummed. 

"Does it fucking matter who it is?" Ryan cut in, his voice cold. "As long as they do their job well it doesn't matter, it's not like they're gonna stick around." 

Michael stared for a moment quietly, and Ryan ignored him as he cleaned his gun. He saw Michael glance at Lindsay and give her a look, then look down at his gun. "Sorry." He muttered, and they went back to cleaning in silence. When they finished, they put their guns back together and Ryan headed off to his old room, not wanting to risk going home at the moment in case Geoff needed him for something. 

Ryan locked the door behind himself and picked up one of the books he brought, settling in to read it. After a few hours he heard shuffling around outside the door and a few voices, and he tuned it out when he realized that it was probably just them showing the tech guy around. After he heard a door close and a set of footsteps retreat, he shut his book and gathered his things. It was late, and if Geoff had needed him he would have come and gotten him earlier. 

He opened the door to the room and headed down the hall, the bag of his stuff slung over his shoulder. When he heard a door open behind him, he didn't even look back before heading towards the front door.


	2. Chapter 2

The morning of the text, Ryan sat in the parking garage of the penthouse's apartment building, checking his phone as he leaned against the wall next to the elevator. He looked up as he doors opened, waving as Jack walked out. "Wow, that's not creepy at all." She said, sarcasm dripping from her voice. 

"What? What's wrong?" He asked, furrowing his brow. 

"Ryan, you do realize that you're sitting in the garage of a fancy apartment building wearing a jacket, worn jeans, full face paint and a skull mask. What's not creepy about that image?" She chuckled, crossing her arms. "So, why didn't you come up?" 

Ryan shrugged, pocketing his phone as he stood up. "Didn't need to. I know everything that I'm supposed to do. Help control the crowd, take the bag of money Lindsay's gonna throw at me, drive off in a getaway car with Michael, meet everyone at the parking garage, get into the chopper, get out, get into a car placed up north for us. The rest is just dealing with any bullshit that may come our way afterwards." He smiled behind the mask, leaning back against the wall. "Also, I didn't want to see the tech guy. Better not to talk to people I don't have to." 

Jack bit her lip, and Ryan knew that she had something she wanted to say, but she seemed to think better of it. "Yeah, makes sense. I'm on my way to go pick up the chopper, I'll text Geoff and let him know you're ready. Y'all will be heading out soon anyway." She told him instead, pulling out her phone. "I'll see you when you get to the cargobob." She hummed, typing away as she headed for her car. 

Ryan waved as she drove away, and only had to wait ten more minutes before everyone was piling out of the elevator, suited up and ready for the heist. "Ready to go?" Geoff asked when he saw Ryan waiting, and he nodded in return. "Good. Yours and Michael's car is over in that corner, Michael's got the keys. See you at the bank." Geoff said as he and Lindsay headed off to their car. 

Ryan watched as Ray and Jeremy got into another car at the opposite end of the parking garage before he headed off to the car he was sharing with Michael, catching the keys that were thrown his way. He put his gun in the backseat with Michael's before climbing into the front seat and starting the car. 

"Crowd control. We got the fun job." Michael commented from the passenger side, looking out the window. 

"And here I was thinking you'd be sad that you didn't have anything to blow up this time." Ryan chuckled, making his way towards the bank. 

Michael shrugged next to him. "Eh, not as fun, but still pretty damn fun. Plus, I have emergency sticky bombs. Never know if you're gonna need them, right? And even if I don't, the vault team still has to blow open a grate, so at least I'll get to see one." Michael hummed.

Ryan nodded as he took a turn, and the rest of the rather short car ride was in silence. When they arrived, Michael handed Ryan his earpiece before putting his own in. Ryan stuck his in his ear and heard the others testing theirs. "Vagabond, one two three, one two three." He said, waiting for everyone to say they could hear him before turning around to grab his gun. 

"Mogar, one two three, one two three." Michael said as Ryan handed him the gun, giving him a thumbs up. 

"Alright bitches, I think we're ready to go. X-Ray, Lil J...Heisty Beardo, you in position?" He heard Geoff asking before breaking down in a small fit of laughter. "I'm sorry, I still love the name Heisty Beardo. Alright, seriously though, are you guys in position?" They all gave their affirmatives before continuing on. "Alright, let's go do this, we've got close to five million on the line." 

Ryan and Michael climbed out of the car and headed into the bank, Geoff and Lindsay doing the same just a little behind them. Ryan went in first, shooting out the ATMs at the front door so the video footage would be unusable. Michael was right behind him, firing into the air as he walked up to the people in the bank, all screaming. "Alright idiots, I'm assuming you can guess what this is. I want everyone on the ground, I want every guard to put their guns in the middle of the room on that table there. If you do not listen to me, I will have no hesitation in shooting you, and I don't want to do that, so you better fucking listen." Michael yelled out his orders as Geoff and Lindsay moved to the grate, putting the small charge on it before stepping back as it was blown open. 

When the grate was opened, Ryan followed the other two in, pointing his gun towards the tellers, one of whom was just a few inches from hitting the alarm before he leapt back in fear. "Oh, and as my friend over there forgot to mention, if you touch that alarm button, that's another way of getting shot. Really, we don't want to shoot you, but if you do stupid things like that, we'll have no hesitation." Ryan reiterated Michael's words from before, shooting the ground around the tellers. 

They stood like this while the others were in the vault, and every time someone made a move that seemed suspicious, Michael or Ryan would push them back with a bit of gunfire, and honestly Ryan was getting sick of it. He took one moment to glance over at Michael, and when he turned back the same woman from before had her finger on the button, pushing it. Without hesitation, Ryan lifted his gun and shot her in the head before she even had the chance. As everyone screamed, he stood there silently. "She push the button??" Michael asked from where he was stood, and Ryan nodded. 

"She did, and the next person to try anything like that will get the same treatment." He told them all a little loudly, his voice deepening in anger. "If you really wanna push it though, go right ahead. I have no qualms with shooting another one of you in the head. Look at me, I'm the Vagabond. I'm Death." He added in the last part mostly just for the theatrics, something he could laugh about later, and he was not disappointed when a man not five feet from him pissed himself in fear. He heard Michael suck in a breath of air, and Ryan smiled behind the mask. 

About ten minutes later, Lindsay and Geoff came clambering back up from the vault. Ryan shot around the tellers to add in a little more fear before he retreated back with the others. On the way out, he shot the guards as they all scrambled for their guns. Before they all opened up the door to the bank, Lindsay handed him one of the bags of money, and he slung it over his shoulder, wishing it wasn't so heavy while at the same time loving the feel of it. 

They opened the door to police surrounding them, and they all lifted their guns and began shooting. Every now and then one that would be trying to make a run for them would go down, and Ryan just grinned, knowing Jeremy and Ray had their backs. Once it was clear enough, they all split up, heading for their cars. "Alright, we're lucky we parked close by, we're almost there--" Ryan cut himself off as he felt a bullet tear it's way through his thigh. "Motherfucker!" He yelled, stumbling for a moment. It wasn't a bad wound, more of a graze, but it was bleeding quite a bit and it hurt like hell. 

"What the fuck?? Lil J, X-Ray, why the fuck didn't you stop that?? Ryan just got fucking shot!" Michael cried out in anger, stopping just long enough to grab Ryan and pick him up, helping him towards the car. "I'm fucking driving now." Michael said as he all but shoved Ryan into the passenger side, throwing the money into the backseat. He grabbed the keys as they were handed to him, heading around to the driver's side. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Michael snarled as he started the car, tearing out of the parking spot. "Alright, we're on our way to the chopper now, we'll be there soon." 

The ride was a bit of a blur on the way there, all he could focus on was the throbbing pain in his thigh. When they reached the parking garage however, he shoved it down. He'd had much worse than this before. He grabbed the bag and his gun from the car before he got out, ignoring the blood running down his leg. Michael came up to steady him before Ryan stopped him. "Blow the car." He said as he heard more police sirens in the distance. "Can't have them finding my DNA, right?" He chuckled, pointing to his leg. Michael just nodded, turning to set a sticky bomb on the passenger side door before turning to Lindsay and Geoff as they arrived too. 

"What the fuck happened?" Geoff demanded as he got out of the car with his own bag, storming over to where Ryan was waiting for the elevator. 

"I got shot. I'm fine, don't fucking worry. We'll patch it up well enough in the chopper, then when we get back it can be fixed properly." Ryan shot back coldly. Geoff nodded as the elevator doors opened. 

"I suggest we all get inside that elevator, because as soon as the doors close Michael's blowing the cars." Lindsay said as both her and Michael ran into the elevator, and Geoff and Ryan were quick to follow. 

As soon as the doors closed, Michael hit a button and the building rattled a bit, but the elevator kept going up. As soon as they reached the top, they all rushed towards the chopper. "We're on our way back to base, we'll meet you there." Ryan heard Jeremy say over the earpiece, and he tuned it out as he unzipped his jacket, ripping his shirt to help bandage the wound on his thigh. 

He quickly tied the piece of shirt before sitting back in his seat, looking around the cargo bob. "As soon as we get back, Kdin and myself will count up the money and split it up, you'll each have your pay before you leave the penthouse." Geoff announced. "But we cleaned the place out, so we're hoping we got at least close to the full five million. We did it!" Everyone began cheering, and Ryan just smiled as he watched everyone. 

As soon as the chopper landed, they saw a rival crew waiting for them. "Uh, Geoff? I think we have a problem." He said, grabbing his gun and handing his bag over to Michael.

"What? What the fuck are these assholes doing here!?" Geoff asked, handing his own bag up to Jack before stepping out with Ryan. They walked over to the crew, stopping a few feet away. 

The guy in the front smiled, tapping his fingers against his own gun. "Did you have a fun heist? Because I think we'll take that cash now." 

He heard Michael swear from over the ear piece, muttering about someone having ratted them out. Ryan's blood boiled at the thought of it, and he stood up a little straighter. "I don't think so, this is our take." Geoff cut in, holding his own gun close. 

"Ramsey, we were gonna hit that bank, we've been planning it for weeks, and then all of a sudden we hear it's already being robbed? That money belongs to us." The guy took a step forward, and Ryan immediately lifted his gun, pointing it at the man's head. "Oh, so you take our money and then sic your guard dog on me? I just wanna talk a bit of business." 

Geoff laughed, lifting his own gun. "This isn't business, this is you trying to steal from me. Oh, and Vagabond here? He may be, what did you a call it? A guard dog? But I'll tell you right now, he's off leash. I don't think I can control him." Geoff told the man, his voice dripping with a bit of sarcasm as he grinned. 

At that moment, Ryan shot the man in the head, and all hell broke loose. Michael, Lindsay, and Jack hopped out from the chopper, picking off what members they saw pull out their guns from where they were standing, while Ryan charged in, beating a man over the head with the butt of his rifle. More gunshots rang out, and he lifted his gun, shooting a few more members, but he was cut short as he turned around and immediately had a knife stabbed into his shoulder. 

His vision began to tunnel as the pain tore through him, but instead of falling like the man must've thought he would, Ryan just laughed. He dropped his gun, pulling off his mask as he grinned down at the guy, now staring back in fear. Ryan grunted as he pulled the knife from his shoulder, and he quickly grabbed the man and stabbed it into his stomach. "Here, I think you dropped this." He said smoothly, twisting the knife before dropping the man, turning back and picking up his gun once more. 

He looked around to see the rest of the members on the ground or quickly retreating, and just for fun, he lifted his gun and shot one of the men who had turned to run before lowering it once more. Ryan heard his fellow crew members cry out in victory, and he quickly brought a hand up to hold his shoulder, letting out a small groan. "Hey, you okay?" He heard someone ask, and all he did was nod, standing up straight and heading towards the car. 

...

When they reached the apartment building, having successfully navigated through the maze the cops had created, Geoff pulled into the garage, throwing Michael the keys. "You and Lindsay take the car out to blow, take one of our cars as well so you can get back." 

At Michael's grunt of acknowledgment, Ryan opened his door and stepped out...only to fall onto his face, dizzy from the amount of blood he'd lost. "Goddammit, Ryan!" He heard Jack yell as he lifted his head to see her pulling out her phone, dialing a number. He fought the urge to close his eyes, looking around the garage. "Caleb, we need a stretcher down here immediately. Ryan's lost a lot of blood from a few wounds, and we need you to patch him up."

"Hey, 'm fine." He muttered, trying to stand back up before Jack's hand shoved him back down. 

"Geoff, take the money and head upstairs, I'll stay with Ryan." She handed him the bag she had around her, and Geoff took it with a nod, heading towards the door to the building. Michael and Lindsay both headed off with the cars, leaving Jack and Ryan there on the floor. "And for the record, you're not fine, asshole." She said, and he just grunted.

After a few minutes, he looked over to see the door burst open, and through it he saw Caleb rolling a stretcher and...Ryan couldn't believe what he was seeing. He wasn't sure if it was the loss of blood, or if the man before him was really there, looking down with a concerned gaze. Ryan's vision began fading as he felt hands pulling him up and towards a stretcher, but all he could focus on was the man standing a few feet away, frozen as the look of concern grew deeper. "Gavin?" Ryan whispered in confusion as his eyes closed, no longer able to keep them open.


	3. Chapter 3

When Ryan woke up again, it was to Caleb standing over him, talking to Jack about something or other. "Jesus, why do I feel like I got hit by a train? All I needed was some stitches." He muttered, rubbing a hand over his eyes as both Caleb and Jack looked over at him. 

"Uh, well, that'd be the blood transfusion and the drugs I had to give you speaking. You're fine now, but I'd wait a little before standing up. Also, if you experience a fever, chills, maybe an allergic reaction or something, within the next 24 hours come right back here. Though, you should be fine so I wouldn't worry." Caleb informed him as Ryan sat up.

Ryan brought his hand back down from his face, sighing as he saw the face paint smeared across it. Oh well, there wasn't really anything he could do. "Can I get a diet coke?" He asked, and Caleb nodded before making a gesture at someone across the room. "So, Caleb, where do you even get all of this medical stuff? Like I get you're a doctor, but it's not like you work for a hospital or anything. So, where does it come from?" He asked curiously. Caleb laughed in response, grinning and shaking his head as he left the room. 

"Hey, so, there's something I should tell you." His head turned as he heard Jack speak, and he frowned. "I mean, we should have told you a few days ago when he arrived, but he asked us not too--" 

Ryan just kept looking up at her, grabbing his mask as he stood up slowly. "What's going on?" He asked, his brow furrowing. 

"Well, that tech guy that you never wanted to meet? Well, uh, he's gonna be staying, he's with the crew again." She told him, and his confusion grew. 

"Again?? What does that mean?" He asked, but before she could answer, Gavin walked into the room, a diet coke in his hand. Ryan stopped and turned to him, looking him over. His hair was darker, not as sun-kissed and bleached as it once was, and he had a beard now, making him look older somehow. 

Jack cleared her throat, but Ryan didn't look away. "Well, I think that explains it. I'll give you two a minute." She said, pushing past Gavin to leave the room, shutting the door behind her. 

They both stood there for a moment, and Ryan didn't know what to say. Of course, he felt relieved to see Gavin again, even if he was different now...but at the same time, those feelings of abandonment came back up, and he felt anger rising in his chest. It only grew as Gavin spoke up. "Hello, lovely Ryan." Gavin murmured, smiling softly. 

Ryan couldn't take it any more, and he snatched the diet coke from Gavin. "That's what you have to say to me??" He asked, not even caring when Gavin's smile faltered. "Two goddamn years and that's all you have to say?? 'Hello'? No. You don't get that. You don't get to come back and have that be what you say to me." He told Gavin coldly, opening up his can. "You can come back and talk to me when you actually have a fucking explanation for yourself." He spat, pushing back Gavin and leaving the room. He needed to find Geoff, he needed to get his pay and go home, he needed to get away. 

He heard his name being called as he walked away from the room, but he ignored it, instead pulling out his phone to text Geoff. Finally, after twenty minutes, he finally found him. Ryan stormed into the room Geoff said he was in, and immediately got up close to him. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked harshly. 

Geoff motioned for Kdin to leave, and he waited until the door closed before he responded. "Because I knew you would react this way, and I needed you one hundred percent for the job. Besides, I kind of already thought you knew at first, until Gavin asked me not to tell you. I wasn't going to anyways but he also asked me." Geoff took a seat, motioning for Ryan to do the same. "Look, I know it's hard seeing him again after two years. I was angry at first too, but then I realized that hey, he's here, and he's back, and now he has no intention of leaving." 

"You don't know that." Ryan muttered, taking a drink from his diet coke. 

"Actually, I do, because I know him." Geoff said, and then leaned forward. "Look, just talk to him, alright? Give him a chance. I know you may not think he does after...whatever the fuck happened between you two, but just give him a chance, alright? Not tonight, but later." Geoff stood up once more, grabbing a duffle bag from the table. "Here's your cut, you can go on home, I guess. Send Kdin back in when you leave." 

Ryan nodded, taking the bag from him before finishing off his diet coke. He set the can down, throwing the bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you later. If you need me, you know to call." He said, exiting the room once more. "Kdin, Geoff wants you back." He called out, leaving the door open as he left. When he reached the penthouse to grab his stuff, knowing that's where it all was, he didn't even bother looking around the room in case Gavin was there. Instead, he grabbed his mask and jacket from where they were resting on the chair closest to the door in the living room. 

"Leaving so soon, Ryan?" Michael asked, causing him to lift his head. His eyes glanced over to a distressed-looking Gavin sitting behind him, but they were quickly averted back to Michael. 

"Yeah, I got more important things to do." He responded curtly. 

Ray stood up and grabbed his things, moving to join Ryan. "I didn't drive here, and you probably shouldn't be driving. I'll take you back, if you want. We live in the same building after all." Ray grinned, patting Michael on the shoulder as he passed. "See you guys later!" Ray waved, and Ryan followed him out of the penthouse quietly. 

When they reached Ryan's car, he pulled the keys from his jacket, handing them over to Ray before getting in. He took Ray's gun and bag from him as they got in, holding them until they reached the apartment building. As Ray started up the car, Ryan looked out the window, letting his mind wander a bit. Honestly, seeing Gavin brought up so many feelings that he wished had stayed down. He felt anger and betrayal, of course, but the same old feelings that were there before Gavin left also resurfaced. Ryan was relieved knowing he was back, and his heart swelled when he saw him and his stomach twisted. Two years and that hadn't changed, but so much else had. 

"Y'know, you could talk to him." Ray piped up, snapping Ryan back. 

"Who?" He asked, though he knew who Ray was talking about. 

"Vav. I know him being back is a little hard, but you should talk to him before it's too late. I mean, he's still pretty much the same. He looks different, sure, and he's got some new skills now, but he's still the same old ridiculous Gavin." Ray told him. "And I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner, but he asked us not to. He wanted to have some time to get up the courage to talk to you, especially after what Michael and Jack told him after he asked about you." 

Ryan turned his head, raising an eyebrow. "What did they tell him?" He asked, curious. 

Ray chuckled. "The truth, that you're a cold-as-fuck bastard who moved out and doesn't talk much anymore. Gavin seemed to think it was his fault, and let's be honest, it kind of is. You took it harder than all of us when he left, and that's not really surprising, considering." 

"Considering??" 

"Dude, don't even act like that. I'm not blind, and while everyone else didn't seem to notice much or at all, it was obvious to me that you two had some sort of thing between you two. The only thing I don't know is how far it went, but I'm guessing pretty far and not far enough." Ray said, and Ryan looked away, thinking back to that night he left. "Not only that, you were also the last person he talked to before he left. Anyways, what I'm saying is you should give him a chance. You don't have to go all in at once, but maybe starting out small like, I don't know, not yelling at him would work." 

Ryan sighed at that, sinking back in his seat more. The rest of the car ride was an awkward silence, and when they got to the apartment building Ray gave Ryan back his keys and grabbed his things. "I'll see you around, Ryan." 

"Good luck on your next job." Ryan grunted, locking up his car before heading into the apartment building. 

...

A few days later, Ryan heard a knock at his door, and he furrowed his brow. He wasn't expecting anyone to show up this late, or at all really. He grabbed the handgun from the kitchen drawer he was standing near, and he headed for the door. He held the gun close to his side, looking through the peephole...only to reveal Gavin standing on the other side, looking down at something on the floor as he bounced a bit. 

Ryan sighed, opening up the door quickly, tugging Gavin into the room. "Why the fuck are you here?" He hissed as he shut the door behind them. "I could have shot you! I thought you were someone else." He said, heading back towards the kitchen, not waiting for a response. 

"I'm sorry, jesus." Gavin muttered as he followed after, taking a seat at the table. "I just wanted to see you, maybe talk." 

Ryan put the gun back in the drawer before turning to face Gavin. "So you thought surprising me at my apartment was the way to go?" Ryan asked, raising his eyebrow. "How the hell did you even get this address?" 

"Geoff gave it to me when I asked." Gavin told him, and Ryan sighed as he turned away. "I'm sorry, I just-- you told me to come back when I had an explanation." 

Ryan turned back to the stove, where he had been cooking when Gavin interrupted him. "Better be a damn good one." He muttered, motioning for Gavin to go on. 

Gavin let out a sigh, and Ryan heard him stand up and start looking through the cupboards as he started talking. "Look, I just had to get away, okay? The crew is my life, always, but I needed some time for myself. There were things I wanted to do before I died, things I wanted to learn, and...well, it's always so easy just to die while on the field, and since that's always a possibility I wanted to go when I had the time." 

"That's what you're giving me? That's exactly what your note said." Ryan mumbled, stirring the sauce he was making. 

Gavin let out a noise of frustration. "I don't even understand why you're so angry! Everyone else understood, and here you are, giving me so much shite! It's ridic--" Gavin cut himself off, and Ryan looked over to see what was going on. He froze as he saw the mug Gavin was holding and the expression on his face. 

After a moment, Ryan quickly turned away, going back to his cooking. "You left it behind, figured I'd take it so Michael wouldn't break it. I forgot it was in there." He lied, refusing to look up. 

"Why is it chipped?" Gavin asked, and Ryan didn't respond, didn't want to tell him exactly what happened that day Gavin left. "So, you've had it this whole time? Well...thank you, I guess." Gavin murmured, and Ryan only grunted in acknowledgment. 

Ryan turned off the stove, grabbing the pot of noodles from the burner next to the sauce. "Can you grab me a strainer? Cabinet to the left of the sink, on the bottom." Gavin nodded, grabbing it out and putting it in the sink. Ryan poured the noodles into it, barely sparing a glance at Gavin as he did. 

He saw Gavin open and close his mouth a few times before he actually spoke. "I think I'm gonna go, I told Ray that I'd visit him as well." Gavin told him, holding the mug close to his chest. "Can I come back tomorrow?" The way Gavin asked him so quietly, so shyly, it made his heart melt just a small amount, and he nodded. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, Rye-bread." Gavin mumbled, and quickly left Ryan behind, stood in his apartment alone. 

Tomorrow, maybe he could sit with Gavin a bit more calmly. Maybe now he was ready to give him a chance. It all depended on tomorrow.


	4. Chapter 4

Ryan jolted awake as he heard a knock at the door, groaning as he rolled his neck around. He looked around, and realized that he'd fallen asleep on the couch while watching TV. He turned off the screen, picking up his phone to check the time. "Fuckin', who the fuck comes by at 4am??" He asked, standing up to answer the door. When he opened it, it revealed a tired-looking Gavin standing there, a fist raised as if he had been about to knock. "If this is what you meant by tomorrow, I'd like to say that 4am technically doesn't count as the next day, as people are generally sleeping then." He grumbled, but stepped aside as Gavin came in. He kicked the door shut as he brought his hands up to fix his hair, pulling it back into a bun. 

"Sorry." Gavin said, looking around the apartment. "I just left Ray's, and I didn't really want to go back to the penthouse yet. I figured you would still be awake, since you never really slept before." 

Ryan shrugged as he sat down on the couch. "I sleep a little better much, but I'm still up most night. Though, I guess it's alright you came over. I had fallen asleep on the couch." He said, leaning back. 

Gavin nodded, taking a seat on the opposite end of the couch. "Okay. So...how have you been?" He asked awkwardly. "I mean, for the past two years. What all have you been doing?" 

Ryan shrugged again. "Same old, same old. Obviously I moved out. It was too crowded, and everyone was always there. I needed my own space." He told him. "I got some plants, too." He gestured to the plants sitting on the windowsill across the room. 

Gavin smiled when he saw them, curling in on himself. "Well, you always were a softie at heart, I'm not surprised." 

Ryan nodded, looking back to Gavin. "What did you do while you were gone?" He asked, laying his arms over the back of the couch. 

He shrugged at that, looking down at the couch. "I did a lot. I spent a little time in Italy taking time off, and then after that I went back to England. I did some work with Dan, and someone he knows up there showed me how to do tech stuff, and I figured out that I really liked it. So I started doing some freelance work for awhile, and I traveled a bit more. Spent a month in Berlin, two in Paris, a few in Dublin, and then some time in Moscow, then I just went all over here and there. Then I heard word from Burnie that Geoff was planning a big heist and needed someone for tech, and asked if I wanted to do it. I thought about it and decided that it was time to come back home, y'know? I'd been pretty much everywhere I wanted to go for the most part, and I missed everyone. So, I contacted Geoff and he welcomed me back, even though he didn't have to." Gavin explained, and Ryan nodded. 

They were both silent for a moment, but then Ryan spoke up. "I wouldn't have been as angry if you had said goodbye." He murmured, and Gavin's head popped up in confusion. "You didn't even say goodbye. You almost did, that night, but then you didn't. If you had told me goodbye, I wouldn't have been so angry when you got back." 

Gavin sighed, stretching out a bit across the couch. "I didn't say goodbye right then because I still wasn't sure if I wanted to go. I didn't make the decision until a few hours after we talked. I mean, I still didn't know where I would go, what I would do, if I would go alone--" Gavin cut himself off, and Ryan raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. "Once I had decided, I packed everything up and I wrote a note and left just as the sun came up."

Ryan didn't know what to say to that, so he looked over at the blank TV, thinking. "Okay." He said after a few moments, then grabbed the remote, turning on the TV. He flipped through the channels until he found a movie playing, thankful that it was just beginning. He settled in, ignoring the confused look that Gavin was giving him. After a moment, he felt the blanket from the back of the couch being pulled out from under his arm, and didn't mind when Gavin put it over them both. 

...

He woke up again a few hours later to his phone ringing, and he rubbed the sleep from his eyes before reaching out to the end table, grabbing it. "Hello?" He answered tiredly. 

"Hey, so, last night Gavin said that he was going over to visit Ray, and he's not back yet. I know you live in the same building, so I figured I should call and ask if you've seen him?" Jack's voice filtered through the phone, and Ryan looked down at the figure all but laying on him, still asleep. "His phone's going straight to voicemail, so Geoff's a bit worried." 

"Well, tell him that Gavin's here, alright?" He said, running a hand over his face. At the silence that followed, Ryan backtracked a little. "He's fine, stop that. I didn't kill him or anything like that. He's just asleep and his phone probably died. I'll wake him up and have him put it on the charger." 

Jack let out a relieved breath. "Okay, thanks Ryan. I'll let Geoff know, don't worry." The line cut off, and Ryan locked his phone once more and put it back on the end table. 

"Gavin, wake up." He muttered, poking at the other man's side. Gavin jolted awake, sitting up as he looked around. "Your phone died, you should probably put it on the charger." 

"Wot?" Gavin asked sleepily, then grabbed his phone from his pocket. "Oh. Do you have one I can borrow?" 

Ryan nodded, moving Gavin a little bit as he stood up and stretched. He moved over to the bookshelf, opening the one drawer it had. He pulled out an iPhone charger, one that he'd accidentally packed when he'd moved. "Here, now go plug it in." Ryan said as he handed it over. Once Gavin had plugged in the phone, he shifted from foot to foot, and Ryan let out a sigh before heading to his room. He pulled out an extra pair of sweats and a t-shirt before returning, handing them over to Gavin. "Here, go change. The bathroom's down the hall to the left." He told him, waiting for Gavin to head that way before he went to his own room. 

As Ryan changed into sweats of his own, he let his mind wander a little. He had to admit, it was still a little tough seeing Gavin after all this time, especially with how he looked, but...he felt better, knowing that Gavin hadn't left the moment that he left Ryan's room. He felt better knowing that Gavin had still missed them, and that he hadn't just left because he didn't want to see them ever again. It was better knowing that Gavin probably would have said goodbye had he already decided he was going to leave. 

When he heard the bathroom door open once more, Ryan headed back into the hall. "You can take my bed, if you want. You look like you need it more than I do." Ryan said before he started heading to the linen closet. He was stopped by a hand on his arm, and he turned around. "What?" He asked. 

"We can share the bed, y'know. I wouldn't mind. Plus, you kinda need the bed. You have been shot and stabbed recently, after all." Gavin told him shyly, glancing down at where he'd been stabbed a few days ago with concern. Ryan let out a sigh as he stiffened a bit, unsure if it would be a good idea. 

After a moment, he decided just to say fuck it, even though his stomach was churning at the thought. "Fine." He mumbled, following Gavin into the bedroom. 

Gavin set his clothes aside, then crawled into bed. "I'll take this side. I know you like the other side better anyway, since every time I would have to wake you up that was the side you were on." He murmured, as if it wasn't a big deal that he remembered which side of the bed Ryan liked, even after all these years. Ryan got into bed next to him, turning his back to Gavin as he felt a slight twinge in his chest. "Goodnight, lovely Ryan. See you in the morning." 

Ryan didn't respond, he only closed his eyes, letting sleep over take him once more. 

...

When Ryan woke up once more, he found himself still laying next to Gavin, who was now sitting up and staring at the wall. "Good morning." He mumbled, jolting the other back to the moment. "What's up?" He asked, sitting up himself. 

Gavin sat there for a moment, obviously thinking about what he was going to say next. "Do you remember that night?" He asked, and Ryan's brow furrowed. "I asked you where you saw yourself in five years. You said you'd still be at the penthouse, with the crew, or you would be dead." Gavin murmured quietly. 

"I remember." Ryan said as he began messing with his hair. 

"And then you asked me where I saw myself in five years, and I told you I didn't know, but that I hoped I'd be sitting right here." Gavin continued, looking away from Ryan. 

"I remember. And then you left." He responded, wondering where this was going. 

Gavin nodded, looking down at his hands, fidgeting with them in his lap. "It may not have seemed like it at the time, but I did mean it. And I still mean it." Ryan's heart sped up as he thought about that. "As much as I wanted to leave, I knew I'd always come back, y'know? And I'm not sure--" Gavin stopped, thinking for a moment. "I'm just really glad that you're not really mad at me anymore. I guess I thought that when I got back nothing would have changed between us, or at the worst you'd be indifferent. I didn't expect you to be so angry. And I guess it didn't help that the first time you saw me you'd been injured."

Ryan didn't really know what to say to that, so he didn't say anything for awhile. He opened his mouth, and then closed it, then opened it once more to speak. "I wasn't expecting you to come back. Everyone else seemed to think you would, and I had told myself that you weren't coming back. It was just jarring to see you there, I guess." He said, leaning back against the headboard. "It's also weird seeing you now. You look different. You seem a little different, too." Ryan brought a hand up to rub his face again. "I also wasn't expecting you to leave like that. None of us did. We thought you were still asleep, actually. I even made you a cup of tea. It ended up on the floor, though. I just...I guess all the anger I felt when you left just came back up. Now, I guess it's just...me realizing it was a bit stupid to be angry. Even though I'm still a little angry." 

"I'm sorry, for just leaving like that. But I'm back now, and I'm not gonna leave." Gavin murmured, smiling softly over at Ryan, and Ryan couldn't help but smile back. 

"Good. I'm glad." He replied, then frowned. "Seriously though, are you gonna keep the beard? I mean, you could at least trim it." He said, causing Gavin to laugh. 

"But Ryyyyan, it's so fuzzy!" He snickered, turning to stand up. "Alright, I'll trim it. Do you have anything I could use here?" He asked. 

Ryan nodded, pointing to the bathroom. "In the cupboard next to the shower. I've got stuff in there that Jack gave me years ago. Still works." He said, standing up himself. Gavin nodded, leaving the room. Before Ryan could leave as well, he heard his phone going off, and he picked it up. "Hello?" He answered, stretching. 

"Okay, so whenever you guys are ready, we need you to come in. Remember how that rival gang showed up? Well, it turns out someone did tell them. I mean, they would have come after us when they saw the heist on the news, but they wouldn't have been waiting at that specific spot unless someone told them. So, we need you both to come in, and to bring Ray with you. Everyone who knew about the plan is coming in and they're not leaving." He stiffened as he heard Jack's voice on the other end, and he slowly looked over to the bathroom. 

"We'll be there, don't worry." He muttered, hanging up. "Gavin, you're gonna have to either wait until later or finish up quickly. We need to go back to base." He called out, his stomach twisting. Gavin wouldn't rat them out as soon as he got back to them, but he knew that with Gavin's new skills in the tech field, they could find out who it was. And then he was going to kill them.


	5. Chapter 5

The ride back to the penthouse was quiet between the three in the car. Ray was in the backseat playing his DS, while Ryan and Gavin were in the front (Ryan driving, obviously) of Gavin's ugly plum car. They stayed silent, the tension from their talk this morning still hanging in there air between them. Ryan thought about breaking the silence every now and then, but then he would realize that he didn't really want to say anything, much less have anything to say.

When they were finally parked inside of Geoff's garage, Ray spoke up. "So why are we needed back here anyways? I already got my cut and I don't even work for you guys anymore. What, does Geoff wanna make brunch?" He asked. 

"I'm not sure, he just said we all had to be here." Ryan lied. After Gavin had come out of the bathroom with half his face trimmed, worried that they needed to come back, he'd decided to just tell him he didn't know why, just that they were all being called back in and to go finish up. When it came to Ray, while Ryan knew that since he was once part of the crew and was still friends with them all, the fact he didn't work for them didn't really rule him out. 

Ray shrugged from the backseat, and they all climbed out and headed inside. When they reached the penthouse, Jack stopped them at the door. "I need all of your cellphones right now." 

"What's going on?" Ray asked as he handed his over, Gavin and Ryan following suit wordlessly. 

Jack didn't even spare a glance at Ryan, realizing what he'd done no doubt. "That other crew we had a run-in with? Someone told them our plan, which is how they were able to meet us at that airstrip up north. Geoff's had everyone put on lockdown up here. You're the last ones to arrive." She told him, and Ray just nodded, heading over to join Michael and Lindsay on the couch. "Gavin, do you think you could find out who it was who told them?" 

Gavin nodded, heading down the hall to his room as Jack followed. Ryan himself made his way to the kitchen, not surprised when he found Geoff there with a glass and a bottle of whiskey next to him. "Who's all up here?" He asked, reaching into the fridge to grab out a diet coke. 

Geoff sighed, taking a drink from his glass. "Everyone who knew. Kdin, Lindsay, Michael, you guys, Caleb, Jeremy, Matt, Jack..." He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I already know who it's not. I know it's not you, Jack, or Gavin. I highly doubt it's Jeremy, since he's been waiting for the promotion I gave him for years and he's been loyal. Ray, I'm fairly certain it's not because while he doesn't work for me exclusively anymore, he knows better than to rat on anyone. I wouldn't expect for him to rat on another crew to us, and I don't expect him to rat us out as well. Michael and Lindsay can't afford to rat on us, since they just got married, plus they're both loyal. So right now it comes down to Matt, Caleb, and Kdin." 

Ryan nodded, taking a seat at the table with him. "We'll get to the bottom of it, don't worry." 

Geoff sat up then, slamming a hand down on the table. "I have to worry! That fuck up nearly cost us all the money we made on the job, that fuck up nearly killed you. I know that fuck up also helped me for the most part get rid of a crew I've been wanting to take down for almost a year now, but it also nearly cost us more than I was willing to lose when it happened. I had preparations in place on how I was going to take them down, things were still in planning. Goddammit." Geoff muttered, downing his drink before pouring another. Ryan just nodded in understanding. 

...

Ryan walked into Gavin's room a couple hours later, smiling as he saw the chipped purple mug on the desk next to him. "How's the search going?" He asked, taking a seat on Gavin's bed. 

The other sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I started with the least likely to have done it, so I've been through Jack's phone, who told me to check it just so there was proof it wasn't her, Lindsay's, Michael's, yours...which, by the way, you should really get a new phone, this one's so out of date it's the younger brother of a flip phone, so I'm buying you a new one. I've been through Jeremy's, and I'm almost done with Ray's. So far, no luck. If I get through all of these without any results, I may have to take over some computers and search them." 

"Can you do that from here?" He asked, frowning. 

Gavin scoffed, turning to roll his eyes at Ryan. "Of course I can, I can also check their internet history, get into Facebook profiles, et cetera, et cetera. When I went off and learned, I didn't half ass it." He said, smirking. 

Ryan held up his hands in surrender, chuckling. "Alright, I get it, don't worry." 

"Yeah, that's right." Gavin said, turning back to the computer. "I'm done with Ray, he's clean. Moving onto Caleb now."

Ryan nodded, opening up his book as he settled in a bit more on the bed. Somehow, even after all that happened in the last few days, this felt normal. It felt almost like it had before Gavin left two years ago. It was nice. He still felt like he had to distance himself from the others, and he didn't get the sudden urge to move back in, and the twinges in his thigh and shoulder still reminded him of all that had happened. 

He'd only made it through a few pages before Gavin made a sharp inhale, causing him to look up. "What's up?" He asked, frowning as he bookmarked his place and shut his book. 

"Well-- I mean, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about really." Gavin murmured nervously as Ryan stood up, walking over. "It's gotta be nothing, I'm sure. It's just an unrecognizable number and several phones calls in the history log, I mean, it could be anyone." 

Ryan shifted Gavin aside, clicking on the bit that said 'show messages'. He ignored Gavin trying to shove him away, his gaze darkening as he read Caleb's message to the unknown number, reading that they were to be at that airstrip when they were there. Ryan quickly moved, shoving off Gavin's hands as he pulled at him. "I'm gonna kill him." He muttered as he stormed out, Gavin following at his heels. 

"Ryan, there's probably an explanation for this!" Gavin cried out as he tugged at Ryan's shirt, trying to hold him back as they entered the living room, where a surprised Ray and Kdin sat staring. 

"Where is he??" Ryan demanded as Gavin pulled uselessly on his arm. "Where is that piece of shit?" 

"Ryan, calm down, there's gotta be an explanation! There's gotta be more to it!" Gavin said as he wrapped his arms around Ryan's waist in an attempt to hold him still. 

Ray stood up, holding up his arms. "Whoa whoa whoa, back up. What's going on?" He asked as Jack and Geoff entered the room, looking for the source of the commotion. 

"Caleb! He's the one who ratted us out, the proof is there!" Ryan roared, and Geoff's face darkened. "I'm gonna fucking kill him!" 

"Ryan, stop it! We need to have him explain, there's gotta be something else, he wouldn't just betray us like that!" Gavin protested as Ryan shoved off his arms. 

Jack stepped in front of Ryan, holding a hand to his chest before he could storm off again. "Calm down, Ryan. There has to be a reason, we need to hear him out." She said as Ryan fumed. 

"I almost died! I don't care if he's the one who saved me, I almost died because of that motherfucker!"

"Ryan! Shut the fuck up." Geoff snapped, then looked over at Ray and Kdin. "Go find him, and bring him here. He's still here. Get everyone else too." He ordered, and the two ran from the room. 

Gavin kept a hand on Ryan, holding his arm as he stood there. "Geoff, there's gotta be a reason, he wouldn't just betray us. There had to be something behind it! Maybe they were blackmailing him or something, maybe they threatened him." He pleaded, even as Geoff looked at him coldly. 

"There's not a good enough reason in the world that would excuse his actions, especially since he could have come to me at any time." Geoff told Gavin, making him even paler. 

They only waited a few minutes before Caleb entered the room, everyone else following him in. As Ryan took a step forward, Jack pushed on his chest more and Gavin tugged him back. "You piece of shit, you almost got me fucking killed!" He snarled, ripping his arm from Gavin's grip. 

Caleb paled as he understood what was happening, immediately looking to Geoff. His mouth opened and shut, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of what. Geoff stepped up closer to him, crossing his arms. "You ratted us out to the other crew, and you better have a good fuckin' explanation right fucking now." He murmured in an icy tone, making Caleb shrink back. 

"L-look, I just...I thought maybe it would help! I mean, you guys took them down almost to nothing, and now you don't have to worry about big plans!" Caleb defended. "I was trying to help." 

Ryan stepped around Jack, stepping forward and grabbing Caleb by the shirt before shoving him up against the wall. "I almost died for this crew, and here you are putting us in the line of danger! We were lucky that I was the only one injured, we were lucky that we were just barely better than them! What would have happened if we'd all died out there on that airstrip? What would you have done, huh!?" He asked as Caleb shrank back, letting the throbbing in his injured shoulder fuel his rage. "I should fucking kill you right where you stand!"

"Ryan! Stop it, get off of him!" Gavin cried out as he tugged on his waist, this time with the help of Jeremy. Once he'd been pulled off, Ray and Michael helped push him over to a chair as Geoff stepped up to where Ryan had been previously. 

Geoff laid a hand on Caleb's shoulder, making him cringe. "I had those plans laid out for a reason, so that we'd be prepared and we wouldn't be in the line of danger. Out there on that airstrip, none of us had a clue what was going on, we weren't prepared. Like Ryan said, we all could have died out there, and he almost did. I almost lost more out there than I would have been able to live with." 

"Please don't let him kill me, I was just trying to help. I didn't intend for anyone to get hurt." Caleb murmured, his eyes full of fear. 

"Look, he's not gonna kill you. I won't let him. But, I will say this; when you leave here today, you are not welcome back. You will no longer be under the crew's protection, you will no longer get any supplies, you will no longer be paid. Your pay for your input on this job is to come right back to me, and I'm giving most of it to Ryan for all the trouble you caused him. Do you understand?" Geoff asked him. Caleb nodded vehemently, sparing a glance to Ryan. "Good. Go gather your things and bring me your pay." Geoff said as he let go of his arm. "Matt, Lindsay, follow him to make sure he doesn't skimp on anything." 

As they left the room, Ryan made a move to stand up to follow after, but Gavin quickly sat down in his lap as Jeremy and Michael held him down by the shoulders. Geoff turned to Ryan then, his gaze almost as icy as Ryan's. "If I hear of you running out and killing him after he leaves, my fury will know no bounds. I made him a promise you wouldn't kill him, and besides, what's left of that crew might come back and tear his ass apart. Let it be good enough that we'll never see him again. And if he had had explicit intentions to rat us out and let us die, I would have let you kill him, but he didn't. So calm the fuck down, you hear me?" Geoff told him before leaving the room.

Ryan settled down after that, anger still boiling in his system. A few moments later, Jack came back into the room and handed out everyone's phones, and Ryan realized he hadn't even noticed she'd left. He took his phone from her calmly as Michael and Jeremy backed off, then pushed off Gavin. He headed down towards his old room, opening up the door, only to stop as he felt tugging on his sleeve, pulling him towards Gavin's room. He shut the door as he followed the man in.


	6. Chapter 6

Ryan laid down on the bed when he entered the room, picking at a loose string on Gavin's sheets. He felt the bed dip beside him, and he didn't mind when a hand undid his ponytail and began running through his hair, feeling his anger just start to drain away. "You wouldn't really kill him, would you?" Gavin asked softly, looking down at Ryan. 

Ryan sat up, turning an icy gaze on Gavin. "Yes, I would." He told the other. "I really would." 

Gavin shook his head, his hand retracting. "I don't believe it. That's not who you are, you wouldn't just..." 

"People change, Gavin! Don't you see that??" Ryan snapped as his anger boiled up once more. "He betrayed us, he almost got us killed, almost got me killed..." Ryan let out a sigh, staring into Gavin's pleading eyes. "I would've killed him on the spot. Before you left, I had gone soft. You can't be soft in this line of field, that's how you get caught, or murdered. It's a weakness, and you can't have weaknesses. The things you do either need to make you stronger or you need to stop yourself before they get you killed." His face hardened, but when Gavin's hand reached out once more to guide him back down onto the bed, he didn't fight it. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Gavin whispered, running his fingers through Ryan's hair once more, shifting so Ryan's head was in his lap. "I know. I'm sorry." Ryan closed his eyes as he leaned into the hand, his anger dissipating once more. 

He went back to toying with the loose string as they sat in silence, and once he was calm, he spoke up. "You know, you have these very expensive sheets, and yet they've got strings loose and are on the verge of tearing." He mumbled, looking up at Gavin as he scoffed. 

"These sheets are over two thousand dollars and have twenty-two carat gold woven into them, and they're custom made! You think I'm gonna just go out and BUY a new set!?" Gavin said, and Ryan laughed. 

"You've got all the money in the world! Just order a new set, you pretentious piece of shit." He chuckled. 

Gavin squeaked in protest, lightly smacking Ryan's arm. "Ryan, lovely lovely Ryan, why are you being so mean to me?" He asked, though there was a smile on his face.

Ryan laughed at that, swatting up at Gavin's hand. "Because you make it too easy. It's fun." He smiled up at the other, closing his eyes. 

They both quieted down then, Gavin leaning against the headboard as he ran his fingers through Ryan's hair. For a moment, Ryan thought about how nice it felt, being back here. Any anger he felt over Gavin's disappearance had vanished, because he'd known all along that there was no way he could ever stay mad at him. 

...

Ryan woke up with a yelp in the middle of the night, sitting up quickly as he tried to breathe. As he caught his breath, he looked around the room, trying to remember where he really was. There was Gavin's mug of cold tea on the side table, and a dull glow of a button on a computer across the room. His hands moved out to grab at the sheets, running his fingers over the silky-smooth surface as he brought himself back into the present. He was in Gavin's room, the two of them having stayed up late talking about everything and anything. He didn't remember falling asleep, but apparently he had at some point. He turned his head to look at the time to find the clock read 4:49am. 

Ryan's head snapped back as he felt a hand wrap loosely around his forearm, and he let out a small breath as he saw Gavin looking up at him with tired eyes. "Wot's wrong?" The brit asked, sitting up as well. 

Ryan shook his head as Gavin moved closer, leaning against the other. "Just a bad dream, nothing to worry about." He murmured, nosing at the top of Gavin's head. 

Gavin pulled Ryan close as he guided him back down to the bed, wrapping his arms around him. "Wanna talk about it?" Gavin mumbled, giving Ryan a look of concern. 

"Nah, I'm good." He whispered in response. Gavin just nodded, leaving them both staring at each other in silence. 

They sat there for a little awhile as Ryan's heartbeat returned to normal, Gavin's fingers running along Ryan's sides softly to calm him. Ryan realized then that now was the moment. He wanted to make sure Gavin didn't just run off on him again, had to make sure that all the signals being thrown his way were real. After a moment, Ryan let his hand move up to cup Gavin's cheek. He heard the other's breath hitch at the touch, making him smile back as he leaned in. He stopped a few inches in front of Gavin's face to give him an opportunity to back off and turn away, but he was pleasantly surprised when Gavin met him halfway, connecting their lips in a long-overdue kiss. 

Ryan shifted closer to Gavin, the kiss between them staying soft yet demanding. When they finally pulled apart, Ryan ran his thumb over Gavin's cheek, loving how the other smiled. "This is what I meant, when I said I wanted to be sitting right here." He heard Gavin whisper in the dark, and Ryan's heart swelled. "Wasn't sure if it was what you wanted." 

Ryan chuckled softly, pulling Gavin in for another soft kiss. "Gav, I've been waiting two years to do that." He murmured as he wrapped his arms around the other. 

"Why didn't you then? That night I..." Gavin asked, his brow furrowing as he stared at Ryan expectantly. 

Ryan shrugged, running his hand over Gavin's back. "Didn't seem like the right time, and I thought I'd have plenty more chances." He answered. "We were too busy dancing around each other. And then you left." Ryan mumbled, brining his hand up once more to cup Gavin's face.

Gavin leaned into the hand, kissing Ryan's thumb. "I'm here now, and I'm not gonna leave again, Rye." He murmured, nuzzling close. "Don't worry." Ryan just nodded, and they lay there silently as they both fell asleep once more. 

...

Ryan was sat on the couch with a book, ignoring for the most part what was going on around him. On the other end of the couch sat Geoff, and in the chair next to him sat Michael as the two of them were trying to get through whatever game they were playing. After a moment, he glanced up as he heard Gavin come in from his room, moving Ryan's arm a bit so he could curl up on his lap. He went back to his book as Gavin settled in, his arms around the other. 

"So, what's up Gav?" He heard Geoff ask from his seat, and tuned them out as they started to talk business as Geoff played his game. 

After a few moments, a finger as gently poked into his side, and he looked up from his book to find Geoff, Gavin, and Michael all staring at him, and he didn't acknowledge the weird looks that Geoff and Michael in particular had on their faces. At the confused look he gave Gavin, the other began to explain. "Geoff wants to know if you would be willing to join Jack tomorrow, she has a meeting with a doctor that's under our protection in hopes we'll get someone new to help out when we need him." 

"Oh. Yeah, that's fine, I can do that." Ryan said as he nodded over at Geoff. He sent a small smile over to Geoff, only to have it disappear as Geoff's face grew dark as Gavin snuggled in closer to him. He quickly turned away, looking back down at his book to avoid the gaze. 

They spent a few hours like that, Gavin curled in close to his side, jostling around every now and then whenever something good would happen in the game. After awhile though, Michael handed over his controller to Gavin to give him a chance to play when Lindsay came in and joined them. It only took moments from there before Ryan set his book down as Gavin squirmed out of his arms, quickly trying to run before Geoff could tackle him. He watched with a grin as Geoff grabbed Gavin, keeping him from running. From across the room, he could hear Michael laughing and telling Lindsay to get her phone out and make a vine. 

Jack walked in as Geoff was giving Gavin a wet willy, and she sat down on the couch next to Ryan with a sigh. "I don't even wanna ask why they're doing this, do I?" She asked, making Ryan chuckle. 

"I don't even know, it was something about the video game." He said, making her sigh again though she smiled. 

"Micool! Micool help!" Gavin screeched, only making Michael laugh harder. 

"Nah man, you got yourself into this! You get to get yourself out." Michael told him. 

As Gavin turned his head towards Ryan, opening his mouth to ask, he just shook his head before the words were even out, a smile spread across his face. Eventually Gavin was able to squirm his way from Geoff's grasp, quickly running from the room as Michael grabbed Lindsay's phone and followed Geoff out as he ran after, leaving the rest of them sitting there laughing. After a few moments, Lindsay got up and headed for the kitchen. "Coffee, anyone?" She asked, and both he and Jack got up to follow her. 

They all poured their own cups before sitting around the table, drinking it silently. Finally, Lindsay spoke up. "So, Ryan..." 

"I knew it, coffee is always a trap to make me talk with you." He interrupted, making Jack laugh. 

Lindsay huffed, scowling at him for a moment before continuing. "Ryan, I have a question for you." She said, and he gestured for her to go on. "Well, you and Gavin seemed pretty...cuddly. What's up with that?" She asked, and Jack went silent, turning her head to look at Ryan as his face tinged a little pink. He stayed quiet as they both stared at him expectantly, sipping his coffee. Lindsay smirked after a moment and sipped her own coffee before speaking up. "Well, I'm assuming this means the two kissed and made up." She hummed jokingly, and he choked on his coffee for a moment, his face going even redder. 

Lindsay shut up then, her and Jack looking back and forth at his reaction. As a smile spread across Lindsay's face at that, he looked down at the table, tapping his thumb against the side of his mug. "Oh my god, that's not even a joke, is it?" Jack piped up finally, and he quickly lifted his head to look at the ceiling. "Jesus Christ Ryan, Geoff's gonna murder you."

"Nah, I think he'll be fine." Lindsay said, then thought about it. "Maybe. Maybe you'll be fine, Ryan, but he's also been really protective of Gavin ever since he came back. Especially since he knew you were upset when you found out."

Ryan looked down at his coffee, still tapping his fingers as he tried to think of what to say. He didn't even look up as he felt Jack's hand on his shoulder, stiffening a bit at the contact but letting it happen. "Look, personally, I think it's great. I mean, you two were kind of heading in that direction anyway before...well, you know. And I'm glad that you two finally figured it out." She told him with a smile, letting go of his shoulder. 

Without a word, he picked up his coffee and stood. He looked back and forth between the two, and as Michael came in to give Lindsay her phone he quickly took his leave. 


	7. Chapter 7

After the interrogation in the kitchen of the penthouse, Ryan quickly left and drove off. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew it didn't want to be there with judging eyes all around him. When he stopped the car, he found himself sitting at one of the many beaches that Los Santos was home to. He put on his mask before he exited the car, toeing off his socks and shoes before he went out. It was too cold outside to be standing barefoot on the beach, and he hated the beach anyway, but today he didn't care. 

As he walked towards the water a bit more, he started thinking back to what had happened back at the apartment. He knew that him and Gavin hadn't really been subtle, but it still irked him to no end how it'd really come out. Jack's earlier words rang in his head; _"Jesus Christ Ryan, Geoff's gonna murder you."_ He knew very well what he was getting into when he'd kissed Gavin, and he hadn't cared. He'd been waiting two long years, and he'd thought he'd never see Gavin again. But here he was, and if they were both willing, why wouldn't he take that risk?

It'd even been risky before Gavin had run off. A touch there, a long stare there, and every time he'd look away, he'd see Geoff glancing over in disapproval. Maybe that was the real reason Geoff hadn't told him that Gavin was back, Ryan realized. Ryan had a certain reputation that everyone knew, and he guessed that Geoff was just looking out for Gavin. There wasn't really any reason to, though, but Geoff didn't know that. Ryan understood the reasons behind it, he just didn't want to really anger the man. As he stood in the sand, he wiggled his toes and squeezed the sand on the ground as the salty scent of the ocean filled the air. 

Ryan was stood there for about an hour before a figured walked up next to him, and a turn of his head revealed Gavin standing there. "Thought you hated the beach." Gavin murmured, looping his arm into Ryan's. 

"I do." He responded, looking back out onto the water as the waves washed over his feet, chilling them with their crisp waters. 

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Gavin nod. "Was this your way of hiding from us all?" He asked, and Ryan shook his head. 

"Just started driving, and I ended up here. Decided it seemed like a good place to clear my head." 

Gavin sighed next to him, making Ryan stiffen slightly. "You just ran off, you didn't even say goodbye. Why?" Gavin asked, and Ryan saw his head turn towards him. 

He was silent for a few moments as Gavin looked at him expectantly, and when he finally spoke up, he regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. "Do you really want this?" He asked, and he felt Gavin stiffen next to him. "I mean, do you really want to be here? With me? You could have your pick of anyone in the city." 

The man next to him stood in silence, thinking over his next words. His hand moved down, lacing itself with Ryan's. "Of course I do. You know that. Even after being apart for two years, even when I thought I was over it...I wanted it as soon as I saw you again. Ryan, what's going on?" 

Ryan sighed, giving Gavin's hand a squeeze. "I was just thinking, and I had to ask." He mumbled, turning his face back to Gavin's. "You do know Geoff's gonna kill me, right? For this?" 

Gavin seemed stunned to hear that. "Nonsense! I'm sure he doesn't even care. Don't even worry about it." 

"I kind of have to worry about it when he glares at me every time I'm even near you." Ryan muttered, and Gavin's face grew dark. 

"Well, he can shove it. I'm gonna bloody do whatever I want, and he just has to accept it. It's not like you plan to kill me or anything, right? And I wanna try this. I really want this to work, Rye. I really do." Gavin pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around Ryan as he moved in closer. Ryan wrapped his own arms around Gavin, and let one of his hands rest on the other's neck for a moment, Gavin shivering at the contact. 

They stood there for a moment in silence, and as Ryan leaned his head against Gavin's, he knew the other was right. Geoff would probably disapprove, but who cared? He wanted this to work as well. He's wanted this for so long, and now he has it. He was gonna make it work with Gavin for as long as he could. 

"We should head back. It's bloody cold out here, and you're not even wearing shoes." Gavin hummed as he lifted his head, smiling at Ryan. "C'mon, it's too cold for you here." Gavin took both of his hands as he began leading Ryan back to the car, the sleeves of the sweater he was wearing covering both their hands. 

When they were both in the car, Ryan looked over at Gavin behind the wheel. "How did you get here?" He asked, frowning. 

"Lindsay dropped me off, we dropped off Ray and began looking around for you. She said you'd stormed off, but she wouldn't tell me why. She seemed a bit embarrassed about it." He said, starting up the car. 

Ryan just nodded as he stared out the window, reaching over and grabbing Gavin's hand as they got out on the open road. He didn't even realize that Gavin had driven them back to his apartment until they were outside of the building, and he was a little shocked to see them here, having expected Gavin to take them back to the penthouse. Only then did he notice the bag in the foothold by his muddy feet, and realized Gavin intended to stay for a little while. They made their way inside of the building and into his apartment before Gavin stopped him at the door, taking off his mask. 

"You should go take a warm shower. Your feet are a right mess and you're still freezing. I'll be waiting." Gavin smiled, leaning up to kiss Ryan before he headed to the bedroom. 

Ryan watched him go as he took off his jacket, hanging it up by the door. He slowly made his way to the bathroom, sighing as he entered and looked in the mirror. His face paint was a bit smudged where Gavin had kissed him, but otherwise intact, and he grabbed out the rag he used to clean it off before he turned on the shower and undressed. When he hopped in, he stood under the warm spray and closed his eyes, letting himself be warmed by the water.

When he finished up he walked into his bedroom, finding Gavin sitting on his bed messing with his laptop. When Ryan entered, however, he looked up for a moment. "Feeling better?" He asked, looking back down to his computer for a moment before shutting it. 

"Yeah, I'm good." He murmured, stepping over to the side table to set down his phone, only to be pulled onto the bed as Gavin hooked an arm around his waist. "What's up?" He asked as Gavin nuzzled into his neck. 

"Nothing." He hummed, pressing a kiss there as Ryan closed his eyes. After a moment, Gavin began pressing more kisses down his neck, moving even closer to Ryan as he let a hand rest on his hip. 

Ryan hummed, closing his eyes. "Nothing my ass." He chuckled, letting a hand wander under Gavin's shirt. 

Gavin laughed at that, lifting his head to smile at Ryan. "Damn, you've caught onto my plan." He joked, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. 

They stayed like that for a moment longer, kissing lazily and running their hands over each other's bodies. When it finally became a little too much though, Ryan slowly began lifting Gavin's shirt, helping him pull it off as Gavin lifted his arms. He was gently pushed back onto the bed before Gavin began taking off his pants, and he let himself take in the view, remembering that now he'd be able to watch this all the time. Once Gavin's pants and boxer-briefs had reached the floor, Ryan pulled him back down for another soft kiss, rolling his hips as Gavin's hand pushed away the towel around his waist and began palming him slowly. 

Ryan's own hand moved down Gavin's body, giving his hip a slight squeeze before bringing his hand down to wrap around his cock loosely, keeping his touches slow and teasing. He flipped them over so he was on top of Gavin, mouthing gently at his jaw before moving down to his neck, reveling in the soft sigh the other let out. He paused in his ministrations as he leaned over to his side table, pulling out a condom and lube before setting them on the bed, grinning down at Gavin as the other smiled up at him. 

He leaned down once more, nipping and sucking a mark high on Gavin's neck as he slowly rolled their hips together, the low rumbling reverberating from Gavin urging him on. Hands ran softly down his sides, the touches soft and slow before landing on his hips, pulling him in more. His hand moved back to the lube as he sucked another mark into Gavin's neck, popping the cap and spreading it over his fingers before moving his hand between Gavin's legs, slipping a finger into him as the other gasped under him, pushing his hips into it. 

Ryan lifted his head as he moved his hand, kissing Gavin softly as they lay there. Slowly, he added more and more fingers into Gavin until he was ready, and he moved his hand away. As he reached for the condom and lube, Gavin's hand stopped him. "Let me." He murmured, picking them both up before ripping open the condom wrapper and sliding it over him. He threw the wrapper aside, grabbing the lube and popping it cap, and Ryan's fingers wrapped around his sides as Gavin spread it over his cock, then guided him in. 

His hands tightened around Gavin's sides as he slowly sank in, letting out a gasp as Gavin's breath hitched. Once he'd bottomed out, he took a moment to catch his breath, letting Gavin adjust to his length. After a minute Gavin began moving his hips, and he took no hesitation to begin slowly thrusting into him, holding him close. With every gasp and moan from Gavin's mouth, Ryan smiled wider, knowing the man below him was all his now, just like Ryan was his. Gavin's hands rested on the backs of his shoulders, his fingers digging in with each slow thrust, and Ryan never wanted to leave this moment. 

After what seemed like hours, Ryan had had enough, and he let his hand fall to Gavin's length as his thrusts sped up just a bit, and he bit down into Gavin's collarbone as the other let out a moan. He felt Gavin's lips mouthing at his temple as they moved together seamlessly, and it wasn't much longer before they both came, Gavin panting as Ryan thrusted in through both of their orgasms. Ryan collapsed next to Gavin then, pulling off the condom and tying it off before throwing it over into the trashcan. As Gavin moved in closer to him and wrapped around his side, Ryan nuzzled into his hair. 

"This is exactly what I want. I don't care what anyone thinks; this is all I want." Gavin whispered in his ear as he traced a finger over his chest, kissing his cheek gently. 

Ryan smiled as he held Gavin close to his side. "This is all I've ever wanted." He murmured back, running a hand through Gavin's hair as the other seemed to glow with happiness next to him. Right then and there, Ryan decided that he didn't care what anyone thought about it, he'd stay by Gavin's side no matter what.


	8. Chapter 8

Ryan looked over his shoulder as he felt arms loop around his waist, smiling as he saw Gavin burrowing sleepily into his shoulder. "Good morning, ready for breakfast?" Ryan asked, holding up the pan he was cooking from. 

"God, if there's anything I've taken from the last few days spent here, it's that you're scarily domestic. Like, really." Gavin mumbled after he nodded. 

Ryan scoffed, setting the pan back down. "Some of us like to leave work at _work_ , Gav." He told him, stirring the eggs more as they cooked. 

Gavin laughed at that, pressing a kiss to the back of Ryan's neck. "Good answer." Gavin chuckled, moving away as he heard a phone going off. "Who is it?" He asked as Gavin picked up, looking over to see him holding his phone. 

"It's Jack." He said before turning back to the phone. "Sorry, Ryan's cooking, what did you need?" Gavin asked, taking a seat onto the couch. 

Ryan turned back to his eggs, making sure he didn't overcook them. It'd been a nice few days if he was honest. They hadn't really been called into work and Ryan assumed it was because there wasn't anything to do. Since the heist, they'd been laying as low as they could as usual, so he hadn't been expecting a call. So really, they did what you would expect; stayed in bed most of the time. Ryan smiled at the thought of the last couple of days. It'd been nice, they'd just stayed home, Ryan cooked (and Gavin attempted, but it ended with a small stove fire that Ryan had to extinguish) and they'd watched TV. 

He looked over as Gavin came up next to him, placing the phone on the counter. "After we eat we need to head back to the penthouse, Geoff needs to talk to you, Jack, and Kdin. That other crew from a couple days ago wants to make a deal, the last few of their men are coming in. It's not til tomorrow, but Geoff wants to go over some stuff and have you stick around until tomorrow." 

Ryan nodded, pulling the eggs off the stove and putting them on some plates. "Alright. Probably wants me there for intimidation." His shoulder throbbed at the memory of what had happened at the airstrip, the stab wound suddenly flaring up after being dormant for little over a week now. 

"Yeah, that's usually it. You are the Vagabond after all, best hitman in the nation." Gavin said, grinning as he wrapped his arms around Ryan's waist. 

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Ryan chuckled, wrapping an arm around Gavin in return. 

"Oh? Are you sure about that? It's gotten me plenty so far." Gavin laughed, leaning up to press a kiss to Ryan's cheek. 

Ryan rolled his eyes at that, leaning in and kissing Gavin softly. "Shut it. Just eat the eggs that I so carefully cooked up for breakfast." He murmured, smiling as he pulled away and grabbed a plate from the counter. 

Gavin laughed at that, grabbing the other plate and some things to add to his eggs. Ryan smiled as he watched Gavin, loving the sight of him just casually moving around the kitchen like he'd been there the whole time and not just a few days. Ryan could get used to this sight. 

...

When they walked through the door, Ryan was relieved to be greeted by Jack instead of anyone else. "Hey there, the meeting isn't for another few hours, c'mon in and make yourself at home." She grinned, motioning to the couch. 

Ryan and Gavin made their way over there, taking a seat at the edge of the couch. On the TV was playing an episode of some cartoon, and Ryan rolled his eyes as he took off his mask and leaned into Gavin as the other curled up next to him. "Really Jack? Why am I not surprised?" He asked, motioning to the TV. 

She just shrugged, grinning. "You know me, I love cartoons, always have, ever since I was a kid." 

Gavin's head peeked out from behind Ryan, looking over at Jack. "I can't imagine you as a kid. I just can't." 

Jack rolled her eyes, laughing a bit. "What, did you think I just popped out as a fully-grown adult?" She joked. "Nah, but as a little kid I would watch cartoons all the time. My dad didn't like it too much, but my mother would always sit next to me and watch them with me. Cartoons are awesome. Though, most of them nowadays suck, there's only a few good ones." She ended with a huff, settling into the couch more. 

The three of them sat like that for quite some time-- Gavin basically clinging to his arm and Jack's feet under his thigh (when did she even put them there?) --before anyone even came out to join them. Jeremy and Michael made their way into the room, carrying beer and red bull along with some snacks as they settled into some chairs. "What's up guys? Using the TV? Mind if we take over?" Michael asked, grinning and waggling his brows at the three of them on the couch. 

Ryan ignored them, continuing to watch the TV in silence as Jack scoffed, getting up from the couch. "Go for it, I've got a TV in my room I can use. When Geoff comes out to get me and Ryan though, let him know I'm in my room." She hummed, grabbing her cup of coffee before heading down to her room. 

As soon as she was gone from her position, both Jeremy and Michael scrambled to take over the side of the couch she'd been sprawled out across. As they began to grab controllers and set up, Gavin crawled over Ryan's lap, grabbing one for himself as he sat between Ryan and Jeremy. He let his legs drape over Ryan's lap, and all Ryan did was place a hand on Gavin's leg. He noticed a side glance from Jeremy at the change in position, but the small smile on his face had Ryan relaxing once more into the couch as the three argued over which game they were going to play. 

After finally settling on a Halo game, Ryan picked up a book he'd brought with him and began reading, only picking his hand up from Gavin's leg to flip the page. After a couple hours, though, Ryan stiffened as he looked up to see Geoff and Kdin standing there, obviously having come to collect him. "Is it time for the meeting?" He asked, setting the book aside once more. 

Geoff's eyes narrowed as he noticed Ryan's hand on Gavin's leg, and his heart began to race, remembering the conversation with Lindsay and Jack. Instead of saying anything though, Geoff just nodded and looked over at Gavin. "Hey Gavvers, I want you to sit in as well tomorrow when we meet with the other crew, so I'd like for you to sit in with us." 

Gavin nodded, exiting the game to let Jeremy and Michael play by themselves. "Alright, I'm down." He hummed, swinging his legs off of Ryan's lap as he stood and stretched. 

"I'll go get Jack, do you guys know where she is?" Kdin asked, slowly taking steps from the room. 

"She's in her room, she's watching TV." Ryan replied curtly as he stood as well. Kdin nodded and headed off that way as Geoff headed for the kitchen. Ryan let Gavin grab his hand and lead him towards the room, giving his hand a small squeeze as the other laced their fingers together. 

When they entered the room, Ryan quickly let go of Gavin's hand before Geoff noticed them, sitting down a few chairs from where Geoff sat looking over some notes. Gavin took a seat between them, immediately looping his arm through Ryan's, and Ryan let his hand rest on Gavin's thigh under the table, hoping it wasn't too obvious. A few moments later, Jack and Kdin made their way into the room and took seat opposite from them, looking up at Geoff expectantly. 

Geoff's head slowly looked up and over the four of them, his eyes stilling on Gavin and Ryan a moment longer than he had Jack and Kdin, but he didn't say a word. "Alright, so a couple days ago, Kdin here informed me that those from that crew that attacked us made contact. It looks like they're trying to make a deal, trying to make some truce with us so they can rebuild. Honestly, I think it's a trap, so we have to play this perfectly. There's barely any of them left, the majority of them having been taken out at that airstrip. That fight really hurt them because they weren't really big in the first place, so I'm assuming all of them will want to show up and put in their few cents. There's only about eight of them left anyways, and they're also leaderless at the moment, so it makes sense for them to make a deal. 

"My guess is they're gonna try to get some semblance of revenge after we pretty much massacred them, so Ryan, I want you there with us. You took out most of them during that fight, even after being shot and stabbed, so I'm assuming their fear of you is pretty big. Jack and Gavin, you're both pretty good smooth talkers, so if things begin to get a little out of line, I can trust both of you to try to get them back on track. Kdin, of course, will be there because he was who received the call so he knows exactly what they want, which is something I can't be bothered with. I need all of you armed, by the way. If this is a trap, I want you all to be prepared." 

"Knowing them, it's definitely a trap. Though, maybe if we talk to them in depth we can work out something that would make us all happy and steer it off of that track." Jack spoke up, and Gavin nodded in agreement. 

"Maybe we can offer them a chance to join us? Of course nothing with any real power." Gavin suggested, looking around the room. 

Kdin nodded, looking back to Geoff. "He has a point. The crew is known for their dealing of drugs and small time robberies, and my guess is they lost a lot of contacts with so many people dying. We could offer to handle the supply part of their operation and give them some roam on our territory along with the territory they already have. They've been caught in our territory so many times they might be okay with that, plus we get more land and more customers so to speak. It'd be a win-win for us all." 

"That's a good point. I'm assuming that their goal with planning to rob that bank that we robbed was more recognition, which would definitely bring them up on the ladder. So maybe now while they're tiny and weak we could use it to our advantage." Geoff agreed, writing it down. "Any other ideas?" He asked, and the others shook their heads. "Alright, I think this is good enough for now." 

As Geoff stood up, Ryan squeezed Gavin's thigh, moving his hand away. Before he could stand up and follow Kdin and Jack out though, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. His eyes moved up to look at Geoff, who was smiling tightly at the two of them. "Yes?" He asked cautiously, glancing over at Gavin, who was smiling back up at Geoff. 

"Would you two mind stepping into my office? There's something else I'd like to go over with you two in private." 

Gavin nodded, standing up. "Of course, Geoff." He replied, tugging Ryan's sleeve to make him stand up. Of course, even the beautiful smile on Gavin's face couldn't calm the turning of his stomach. 

This was it, the moment of truth. The moment Geoff would make it clear what he thought about the two of them together. Ryan was most definitely not excited to hear about what he had to say.


	9. Chapter 9

Ryan quietly shut the door behind them as they all entered Geoff's office, hoping that this wouldn't be too bad of a reaming. He knew what he'd been getting into; when Gavin came back, Ryan had been understandably upset. Gavin never told him he'd come back, not until he'd been shot and stabbed, and then he just expected everything to go back to normal. It didn't help that ever since Gavin had left Ryan was pretty distant with everyone except for Jack for the most part, and then there was the fact that in his anger, he'd hurt Gavin, and even when they'd made up it had been a lot quicker than expected. 

There was also the fact that even before Gavin left, Geoff still didn't seem impressed with their relationship, even though at the time there wasn't much of anything between them. Ryan knew Geoff was just trying to protect his surrogate son, and understood where he was coming from. Gavin on the other hand seemed oblivious to all of this, as he smiled warmly at the man before them. "So, what's up Geoffrey?" Gavin asked as the man just scowled, looking between the two of them. 

"Just uh, wanted to know when you two made up. I mean, not long ago I overheard you whining to Micheal about how Ryan wouldn't even look at you, much less speak to you. Now you walk in and you're practically superglued to his side." Ryan suppressed a shiver at the cold look Geoff sent his way, and from the corner of his eye he could see Gavin go a little pale. 

"Well, y'know, we just talked things out? And it worked out and now things are going well and I even spent a few days at his house--" Gavin rambled, cut off by an awkward cough from Ryan. 

Geoff looked between the two, breathing heavily as he glared over at Ryan, standing back up from the seat he'd taken when they entered the room. "I guess there's something I'm missing here, but I don't understand how the _fuck_ you were able to make up with this coldhearted bastard." At those words, Ryan averted his eyes from Geoff's gaze, turning to look towards the ground. "I mean, if you thought he was bad when we first met him, you have no idea what he turned into after you left. And yet here you are practically sitting in his lap every chance you get. I can't fucking believe it, because you definitely deserve better than this fucking asshole." 

Ryan flinched at the words, glad for the mask on his face as he folded his hands into his lap. Honestly, Ryan was glad that Geoff hadn't gone into the gory details about the last two years, preferring to tell Gavin everything later on, though at this point it seemed like Gavin could probably guess. A small silence overcame the three of them, only broken by the sound of Geoff breathing heavily through his nose. After a few more moments, Gavin finally spoke up. "I don't care." He said simply, making Ryan's head snap up as he looked over at the brit. "The point is that Ryan has treated me wonderfully in the last few days, and he's made me feel welcome. He may be a monster to you, but to me, he's the same Ryan that I talked to that night I left. And we've already talked about the past couple of years, I know what he's done, and I don't care. You know what I also don't care about? Your thoughts on this. You can be as mad as you want, but I'm in a good place now, and I won't let you bring me down." 

Geoff just rolled his eyes, sitting back down. "Look, I don't care if you don't care. I'm telling you while before you're in too deep: break up with him before he hurts you any more. " He grumbled, pointing at Ryan. 

At that point, Ryan himself spoke up. "Geoff, I know it's been a bad couple of years. Yeah, I did some...unsavory things, and I closed myself off once more, even moved out. But you can have no trust in me all you want, because honestly? It's well placed. But if you think I would ever intentionally hurt Gavin, then you're mistaken. I was angry when he left, and I was even angrier when he came back and no one fucking told me, but we worked it out. So I think you better just accept it and leave us alone. If I ever do hurt Gavin in the future though, I give you completely permission to knock me down a few notches, but right now, it's unnecessary. So, thank you for the bombardment of insults, I very much enjoyed it." With that, Ryan stood up and turned around, heading out the door of the office, heading instead for Gavin's room. 

It wasn't long before Gavin himself was shutting the door behind him as he came into the room, laying down next to Ryan on the bed. "I'm sorry about that. Geoff can be...a bit overprotective. He's just looking out for me, y'know? But still, he was out of line, and I told him so before I left." 

Ryan only gave a small grunt of acknowledgment as he turned the page of the book he was reading, ignoring for the moment Gavin curling up in his lap. After a few minutes, Ryan finally set his book aside and tugged off his mask, pulling Gavin closer. "I understand where he's coming from, I have been anti-social and cold, and he's just looking out for you...but you know I have no plans to ever hurt you, right?" Ryan asked, pressing a kiss to Gavin's forehead. "And...I mean, we haven't really talked about the last two years, not in detail. Geoff was right about that..."

Gavin just shook his head, nuzzling into Ryan's chest. "Like I said, I don't care." 

"But you would if you knew." Ryan mumbled, running his fingers over Gavin's back. "It wasn't good."

Gavin lifted his head, looking up at him. "Then tell me, I'll be the judge of that." 

Ryan sighed, biting his lip. He knew it'd be a bad idea, but he couldn't just lie to Gavin. "Like Geoff said, things became...worse than when you met me. I only talked to Jack and occasionally Lindsay unless it was business, and I closed myself off from the others. I broke my murder break when a guy walked by and gave me a funny look. Geoff put me on hitman duty and I killed without remorse in the worst ways, and I...did a lot of things that you don't need to know the details of. Jack tried to get me to stop, but I knew I couldn't, not when I was past the point of no return. Even now, while I wanna stop to make you happy, I'm not sure if I can. And that's why I'd still kill Caleb in a heartbeat, because he deserves it. I'd feel no remorse at all if I got the chance." Ryan explained, looking away from the look of pity on Gavin's face.

Gavin sighed, leaning up to kiss Ryan's jaw. "I still don't care. I'm disappointed, but mostly I'm sorry, because I know it was my fault. I shouldn't have just left like that, but I did and I had a great time and learned more things..." Gavin trailed off, pressing a soft kiss to Ryan's lips. "I know that in this field there's no room for weakness or softness, but I'm still gonna help you out. There's no reason to be as cold as that, and I know you can be a better person while still being just as strong. I understand it won't be overnight, and I understand you can't just stop. But I'll get you through it, okay?" Gavin smiled, cupping Ryan's cheek. "But there is one thing I need to ask of you...can you go on a murder break? For me?"

Ryan sighed, raising an eyebrow. "My job requires me to murder people. That's the point of a hitman for a crew." 

Gavin rolled his eyes, frowning. "You know that's not what I meant. Any murders committed out-of-work at the one that count. And besides, earlier you told me that you keep work at work. This is just an extension of that." Ryan sighed. "For me? Please?" 

After a moment, Ryan thought about it. "Yeah, I guess." He muttered, pulling Gavin closer as the man leaned in and kissed him. 

"Good. Thank you." Gavin hummed, and Ryan picked up his book once more, reading from where he left off before. 

...

The day of the meeting finally arrived, and Ryan stood and held his hands behind his back and straightened up as the remaining eight crew members filed into the conference room of a long-abandoned office building. A little over half of them looked at Geoff as he greeted them, but a couple turned their gaze straight to Ryan, glaring at the mask covering his face. Ryan only puffed out his chest a bit, letting his own cold stare come across clearly as he watched them all sit down across from Kdin, Jack, Gavin, and Geoff. 

"Hullo there, I hear the lot of you felt the need for a meeting, and honestly, I agree. Now, first off, what is the outcome you expect from this meeting? It'd be helpful to know before we offer anything." Gavin smiled, laying on the charm as thick as he could.

One of the men huffed, leaning onto the table. "I think it's pretty obvious what we want. We want the money from that heist. Our men died for that money, we deserve it." He growled, tapping a hand on the table as punctuation. 

Gavin nodded, sifting through papers. "Well, that's understandable, and that's somethin' to bargain for. First, we'd like to propose our offer, and if you like it, then we'll write up a contract and sign it, and if you don't, I'm sure we can take it from there and get to a point where we can all agree on something. Beardonski, mind taking over from here?" 

"Sure thing, Vav!" Jack smiled, and Ryan smirked at her alias, as he always did when he heard it. "Now, so far we haven't worked out any details yet, but we're offering you something big here. We know you dabble in drug dealing, and I can only imagine how much this has hurt your business. So, we're offering you the chance to be the receivers of some of our supply. You'd get your own land and free roam of our territory, and we'd only claim 30% of all of your income for it." 

"On top of this, I'd like to make it clear that you'd still be able to run your business however you wanted. All we'd do is supply you and get a small cut as payment for the supplies, and you get more area to sell in. You can run it however you like, everything is still yours. And on top of that, I think Ramsey and myself can count out a percentage of that heist money and hand it over, if it will satisfy you. Will 40% work?" Kdin asked, smiling over at the men across the table.

Finally, after moments of silence between the two table sides, one man from the crew stood up. "Fuck this! It's not going to bring back the men you and your fuckin' _friend_ over there killed! We don't need a dealer, we don't want just 40%, we want the whole lump sum, but I know that ain't gonna happen, so this whole thing was a total fucking waste." He grinned then, staring down at Kdin. "Well, maybe not a total waste." 

Before anyone could react, the man had his gun drawn. All they could do was watch as a gunshot went off and Kdin's lifeless body slumped back in his seat, blood dripping from the fresh wound in his forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about Kdin, but to be fair, I heard he likes it when he dies in fics. He's never gonna read this but fuck it if he likes being killed off I'll kill him off. (I hope he never reads this at least, that'd be weird and awkward)


	10. Chapter 10

Seconds too late, Ryan pulled out his own gun, firing it off as the men on the other side of the room scattered and found cover. For the moment, Kdin would have to wait. He felt Jack tug him down into cover as the other crew began firing back, but right now, he didn't even care, all he could see was red. "Get Geoff and Gavin out of here, I'll deal with this myself." Ryan said roughly, pulling out a his gun as he smiled ruthlessly behind his mask. Jack nodded, and Ryan moved around the table as she gathered up Geoff and Gavin, quickly pulling them out of the room. Ryan shot up when there was a break in the gunfire, putting a couple rounds into the man farthest from him. 

Before he could get to them, a couple ran out of the room, no doubt off to hide somewhere else or chase after the others, but for now, he'd deal with what he had. As the gunfire began back up, he threw a chair in front of himself, thankful for the metal chairs in this room. Over the sound of the guns, he began to whistle a tune, and they ceased fire once more. "What the fuck is with this guy!?" A man murmured from the other side of the room, and Ryan quickly made it to the man closest to him, pulling out his knife and effectively slitting his throat. 

"Fuck! Frank!" One of them cried out, quickly shooting his way. Ryan used the corpse as a human meat shield, letting them fire round after round into Frank before he started forward once more.

"Should've taken our deal, now you have to deal with me." Ryan laughed manically, shooting a couple more men. Four down, four to go, and at least two or three had left the room. "And I don't deal nicely. At least I'm being kind right now, killing you quickly. The one who shot my friend there, he won't have the same luxury when I find him." 

As he finished his sentence, one more peeked out from under the table, missing every shot as his hands shook. It took Ryan three steps to approach him, kicking the gun easily from his hand. "Please, I have a family, I want no part in this." The man begged.

Ryan took off his mask slowly, revealing the face paint underneath. He smiled widely, picking the man up by his collar and pressing him against the table. "Too late. I hope your family will do well without you. Probably will be better off without some lowlife in their midst." Ryan murmured tenderly, shoving his blade up into the man's jaw, waiting as he bled out before pulling it back out. 

After searching the room and finding it empty, he calmly walked from the room, whistling once more. At every sound, he raised his gun, making rounds around the floor in search of those out there. After a few minutes, he finally saw a head peaking up from behind a desk, pausing in his whistling as he smiled and brought up his gun. 

"I found you! Guess I win this round of hide and seek, you be the seeker next!" He said, causing the man to shoot up from his spot with his gun ready. Before he could fire off a shot of his own, Ryan pulled the trigger and hit him right in the side of the throat, causing the man to fall down and begin bleeding out. "Oh wait, sorry, I guess you can't. Maybe next time." Six down, two more to go.

As he kept walking, his gun at the ready, he began toying with his prey. "You know guys, I've been thinking. Maybe I'll spare one of you, just so I have the pleasure of knowing that there is one member left, that everyone else was stupid and died by my hand." He announced, turning as he heard footsteps behind him. "Then again, maybe I'll just take you both and throw you down the stairs. Maybe light your broken bodies on fire just to watch them burn. It's not like it'd start a gang war. Your gang is dead."

He smiled as he saw a man's arm peeking out from around the corner, pulling his gun away in favor for his knife once more. He quietly walked up behind the man, holding his breath as he got close. The moment the guy turned the corner, ready to shoot him, Ryan lifted the knife and thrust it into his stomach, twisting it further in. He held the guy up as he shook slightly and watched the life leave his eyes. 

As the body hit the floor, Ryan let out a small giggle. "That's right, lay down!" He snickered, stepping over the body carelessly. He heard some rustling off to another room, heavy breathing with it. Ryan started heading that way once he realized that the man had gone back to the conference room, and there was no way to get out of there. He forgo trying to be silent, this time letting the fall of his boots echo through the abandoned office building. One left. 

As soon as he entered the room, there was a gun aimed at his chest. In response he took off his mask, smiling sweetly as he stared into the eyes of the man who had started all of this. He dropped his knife and the mask, holding up his hands in a mock surrender. "Well, look at the situation we're in now." He hummed, stepping forward slowly. 

The guy stared at him in a confused manner, looking at his face. "What the fuck is with the make up?" He asked, and Ryan's smile dropped. 

"It's EVERY DAY face paint!" He muttered defiantly, charging forward and taking the man's gun from him before dropping him to the ground. As the man spluttered beneath him, he placed his boot onto his neck. "You know, I'm kind of glad you made it this far, that I didn't kill you first." Ryan looked around the room, taking in a breath. The place smelled heavily of blood, and he loved having that satisfaction. "Before you die, I want to make a point. I want this to be a message, to you and other crews." 

His head turned back to the man, desperately grasping at his leg to no avail. "And what's that?" He choked out. 

Ryan smiled, tilting his head a bit. "That we can take down entire crews. That I can, alone. I mean, that's pretty much what happened, wasn't it? At that airport, I probably killed most of you. And now here I am finishing you off." Ryan knelt down, pressing a bit harder with his foot. "Hurt us, we'll be upset but we'll at least try to make peace. Kill one of us...and you face me." He whispered, pressing the gun of the rival crew member's head. "I think it might be fitting to kill you with the gun that started this whole mess. Might make my point sink in more. Not that you'll notice, you'll be dead." Ryan chuckled, moving his boot from the guy's neck to give him a little air. 

"Fuck you." The guy gasped, staring Ryan right in the eye.

Ryan just snickered, pressing the metal of the gun harder into his head. "Mm, yeah, you're right. That's a bit too cheesy." He pulled the man up from the ground and setting him on his knees. "Lookie here, guess someone gets the chance to have their death personally tailored to them! Sir, do you have any ideas for how I should kill you?" When the man said nothing, Ryan just tsked and took away the gun against his head, holstering it. "Wrong answer, guess we'll just have to get creative!" 

Ryan pulled out another knife from a sheath strapped to his ankle, shoving it immediately into the man's shoulder. He grinned as the screams echoed off the walls, ringing in his ears. The guy slumped a bit, but ultimately looked up into Ryan's eyes once more. Probably thinking that Ryan wouldn't be able to kill a man while he was looking right at him. Too bad he was severely wrong. 

"Aww, did that hurt? Good." Ryan snapped, twisting the knife before pulling it out. "Maybe I could make a small cut on a big artery and watch you bleed out." Ryan made a slit over the man's jugular, watching for a moment as he choked. After a minute, Ryan let out a huff. "Taking too long. Damn my impatience. Well, guess we'll just go with the cheesy idea." He put away his knife and lifted the man's own gun, pressing it to his head once more. 

He pulled the trigger, letting the body fall to the ground. Ryan dropped the gun, lifting his arms for a stretch. He jumped as he heard a sound behind him, turning around and stopping dead in his tracks as he found Gavin standing in the doorway, a horrified expression on his face. "Rye?" He murmured, looking anywhere but at Ryan. 

"Gav, you shouldn't be in here." He said, his voice tight with worry. Ryan moved and picked up his knife and mask, standing up to look at Gavin once more. "How long...?" 

Gavin finally turned his head to look at Ryan, his face hardening. "Long enough." He let out curtly, before turning around and heading out the door. 

"Gav-- Gavin!" Ryan yelled after him, running out the door after him. Finally though, he stopped, letting Gavin go. He'd fucked up, letting out this side of him while Gavin was around. He hadn't even been as bad as he would have, but if he had known Gavin was nearby, he would have toned it down more. 

When he heard the main door down the stairs slam shut, Ryan walked over to the nearest room with a desk. Immediately he began picking things up, throwing them against the walls and ripping apart papers. He grabbed the brittle wooden chair, walking out of the room and throwing it over the balcony, watching as it hit the ground and smashed into several pieces. Ryan leaned against the wall next to the office, letting himself sink to the ground. He sat there for several minutes, even as he heard the door downstairs open and footsteps coming up the stairs. He looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder, relieved to find Jack standing above him. "Ryan, what happened?" She asked, sitting down next to him. "Gavin came running back in here almost as soon as we left, and then when he came out a few minutes ago...he didn't seem happy." 

Ryan sighed, placing his head into his hands. "I didn't even know he was in here until right before he left." Ryan mumbled, and he heard Jack let out a breath. 

"So, let me guess...you went all murder-crazy, and Gavin saw it all?" Ryan nodded. "Damn. I mean, I'm used to it, because I've seen it all...but I can see why he's upset. Just...let's go get you cleaned up, Ryan. Give him some time to cool off, then I'm sure you'll be able to talk about it with him." Jack stood once more, gently pulling Ryan up with her. "Jeremy and Matt are on their way, they're gonna come get Kdin. We'll start planning the funeral tomorrow." She murmured quietly, leading him from the office building.

When they reached outside, Ryan heard Gavin and Geoff's voices stop, but Jack tugged him in the opposite direction towards her car. He got in silently, not even lifting his head to look out the window, even as Jack started the car and began heading off towards his apartment building.


	11. Chapter 11

Jack pushed Ryan into the bathroom as they reached his house, folding her arms over her chest as he stood there confused. "Well? What're you waiting for, strip. I'm throwing out these clothes, and I'll hang up your jacket. I'll lay out a new set for you." She said, still standing there. Ryan sighed as he began taking off his clothes, glaring at her. 

"Y'know, you don't have to watch, I'm fine." He muttered, throwing his shirt at her feet. 

"Mhm, sure. That's what you said when I cleaned you up when you first snapped after Gavin left, that's what you said when I found you that night you killed an innocent man in cold blood, so of course you'd say that now. I've always been there for you and you know I always will be." She began moving around the room and picking up things. Jack picked up the clippers that Gavin had used to shave off his beard, turning back to Ryan. "I see you still have this. Do you even use it?" She asked. 

"Not really, but Gavin did. It's not like you need it anymore." He huffed, turning on the water after kicking his pants over towards the door. 

She laughed, setting it back down. "Yeah, that's true. I can't really grow a beard anymore." She chuckled, settling in against the wall as he hopped into the shower. "Look, I know it seems bad now, but I'm sure that within an hour or two Gavin is going to be knocking on that door asking to see you. Especially since he doesn't have any other work to do today."

Ryan didn't respond to that, instead letting himself listen to her as he let the hot water run over his skin. Jack didn't leave then, instead still content to make sure Ryan was okay. He hated it, just like he had every other time she had picked him up. There was a reason he had never really lost contact with her like he had the others when Gavin had left; it was because she never let him, and because she was actually bearable to be around. He helped her, and she helped him back. Didn't mean he didn't hate needing her help. 

"Y'know, I never really knew what went on with you two before. I mean, you guys were close, but it never clicked until after." Jack hummed, and Ryan let out a small sigh. "I saw the mug in your cabinet, and that's how I figured it out. And unlike Geoff, I think it's great you two made up and got together. Not just because it lessens the tension, but...also because you two seem happier together. He really likes you, Ryan. That's how I know he's going to show up soon." She was quiet for a moment before Ryan heard the rustling of clothes being picked up. "I'll put some clothes on your bed and make some coffee for you. I'll call Geoff and let him know you're not going back into work and I won't be there until later." 

When the door shut behind her, Ryan finally let himself drop to the floor of the shower. He brought his hand up and rubbed at his face for a moment. As he watched the colors wash down the drain, he thought back to that moment he saw Gavin in the doorway. He looked horrified, and then angry. Ryan knew it would have happened eventually, but honestly? He still hated it. He had never wanted Gavin to see him like that firsthand, ever. He remembered back to what Gavin had said when he told him about the things he'd done, and how he was... _'I don't care'_ he'd said, but it was obvious now that he did. 

After a few more moments on the floor, he stood up and began washing all the dried blood off, cleaning himself of the atrocity he'd committed today. One more to add to the list. He stepped out of the shower only when the water turned cold and grabbed a towel from the rack. When he moved into his bedroom, he noticed his cat shirt and some sweat pants laying on the bed for him. He chuckled as he slipped into them, and began putting his hair up in a bun as he walked out of his room. He stopped as he heard voices coming from the kitchen, furrowing his brow. 

Ryan entered the room, freezing as he saw Jack sitting on the counter while Gavin leaned next to her, laughing about something they were talking about. Not wanting to interrupt he moved to the coffee maker and poured himself a mug off coffee. "Oh, hey Ryan. Hope you don't mind I let Gavin in." Jack hummed smugly, sipping her coffee as he looked over.

He shook his head. "Nah, it's fine." He mumbled, retreating from the room once more to take a seat on the couch. Ryan turned on the TV and flipped through the channels silently, finally giving up and letting whatever was on play. He wasn't really paying attention as he let his mind wander again. He didn't even notice when Jack left, didn't even notice that Gavin had entered the room until he felt a hand on his shoulder. His head turned, looking right into Gavin's eyes as the other gave him a look of concern. 

"I talked to Jack." Gavin murmured, and Ryan only hummed in response, looking away as Gavin spoke. "Y'know, it's okay, right?" Gavin crawled into his lap, wrapping his arms around Ryan's neck. "I'm okay with it. I was shocked, of course, but I'm okay with it. Really." 

Ryan set down his mug, wrapping his own arms around Gavin's waist as he laid his head onto his chest, his wet hair no doubt making Gavin's shirt damp. "I didn't want you to see that. That's why I told Jack to take you guys out of that situation. I wanted you safe and I didn't want you to see that." He murmured, nuzzling into Gavin's collarbone. 

Gavin only held him close as he laid a hand on the back of Ryan's neck. "It's okay. Like I said, I don't care. If that's how you work...then that's okay. I just...I wasn't expecting it to be like that. And after I talked to Jack...she told me it's been a lot worse than that before. But it's okay, Rye. I said I don't care, and I don't." He murmured, stroking his thumb over the back of Ryan's neck as he kissed his forehead. 

They stayed like that for a while, just silently holding each other as Ryan let it sink in that he hadn't fucked all of this up, that Gavin was still here. He lifted his head finally, leaning back to look Gavin in the eye. He lifted his hand and gently grasped Gavin's chin, pulling him in for a soft kiss. When they pulled apart once more, he leaned their foreheads together, letting his thumb run across Gavin's jaw. Ryan breathed in deeply as he closed his eyes. "I love you." He murmured softly, smiling slightly at the small gasp of breath Gavin let out against his cheek. 

"I love you too, Rye-bread." Gavin whispered back as he kissed Ryan again. "This time I'm not going to let you go." He muttered against Ryan's lips as they sat there, Ryan pulling Gavin closer. 

"This time I won't let you." Ryan mumbled back as he held Gavin, letting the feel of his body ground him to reassure him that this was real; that it wasn't just some dream that was going to dissipate as soon as he opened his eyes. 

After a few more moments and a few more kisses shared, Gavin climbed off to the side of Ryan, nuzzling into him. "Let's just watch some TV, alright?" Gavin smiled, picking up the remote and flipping through the channels. Once he'd landed on some movie neither of them had ever heard of, he stopped and let it play. Ryan didn't even pay attention to the movie, instead focussing on each breath of air Gavin let out and the way he was curled around Ryan, as if he were to let go it would all be over. 

...

Ryan woke up in the middle of the night and rubbed his hand over his face. He wasn't really sure why he was up, but he was so used to it that at this point he didn't really care either. He threw his legs over the edge of the bed and picked up his sweatpants, slipping into them before he stood up. Before he moved away from the bed he felt a hand lightly nudging his leg and he turned around to see Gavin staring up at him. "E'rythin' okay?" The other slurred out tiredly, causing Ryan to grin widely. 

"Yeah, just grabbing a glass of water." He murmured, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Go back to sleep, I'll be right back." 

Gavin hummed at that before he rolled over again, falling into a deep sleep once more. Ryan doubted he would even remember this when he woke up in the morning. He slipped out of the room silently, closing the door behind himself before heading to the kitchen. When Ryan reached the kitchen, he turned on the light only to stop dead in his tracks to see Geoff sitting at his table, drinking a beer with a gun resting casually on the table beside him. "Oh, mornin' Haywood." Geoff greeted cheerily as if he didn't look as though he was planning on putting a bullet through Ryan's head the moment he stepped any further into the room. 

"...Good morning to you too." He let out cautiously, still afraid to take another step past the doorway. Geoff stayed silent from where he sat for a moment as he sipped his beer, keeping his eyes on Ryan intently. 

Geoff set down his beer, leaning forward against the table on his elbows. "Have a seat, why don't you?" He asked, gesturing to the seat across from him at the table. As Ryan sat down, he let out a small smile. "So, it looked like you had a bit of fun today in that office building." He said, leaning back in his chair again. At Ryan's silence he continued. "Gavin seemed pretty upset when he came back outside. Guess he saw something he didn't like." 

Ryan opened his mouth to speak. "Gavin and I--" He started, but Geoff's hand raised and cut him off. 

"I don't care, Haywood. What's important here is that Gavin wasn't happy. After he calmed down, do you know what he told me? He said 'I knew it was bad, but I didn't think it was like that'. He seemed genuinely hurt when he said it." Geoff grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I told him not to come here after I talked to him, but he seemed pretty insistent on it. And you know how it is, right? He's like a son to me, I practically raised the kid when I found him. So of course I had to stop in and see if he was okay." Ryan ignored the way that Geoff's eyes roamed over his bare chest, no doubt taking in all the marks that Gavin had left on him. "So I want you to tell me how he is. Is he okay, Haywood?" Geoff asked, one hand moving to lay next to the gun. 

Ryan paused for a moment as his eyes flickered from the gun to Geoff. Even if he wanted to, there was no way he'd be able to get the gun away from him in time. Instead he let his eyes look back up into Geoff's. "He's good. We talked it out, he's fine." Ryan murmured, hoping it would be enough for the man across from him. 

Geoff's eyes narrowed at Ryan, one finger twitching towards the gun. "I know he cares about you, a lot. Always has, ever since before he ran off. I told him it wouldn't be worth his time, but I guess he thought otherwise." Geoff lifted his beer to his lips once more, keeping his eyes on Ryan. "I know he's not just going to listen to me, that he's going to back out of...whatever you two have." Geoff stated as the beer hit the table once more. "So, I need to know; how well are you prepared to take care of him? To make sure he's happy? Are you prepared to be there for him whenever he falls off the wagon, or make sure he's safe when he fucks something up and gets into danger? Are you ready to take on everything there is to Gavin?" Geoff asked gruffly, searching Ryan's eyes for the truth. 

Ryan crossed his own arms as he stared back into Geoff's eyes. "I know you don't like me, and that you think I'm gonna put him in more danger than he can get himself into. The answer is yes, I'm prepared for all that. I have been since before he left." Ryan leaned forward against the table, making sure his point got across. "I will make sure Gavin stays out of danger, and if he gets into it I'll be there to help him out. I can't promise I'll make him happy all the time, but I'll do my best to make sure he gets what he needs. Geoff, you may not believe it, but I actually want this to work between me and Gavin, and I'm gonna make sure I do everything I can to make sure it does." He looked down at the gun again, then back to Geoff. "You don't need to threaten me with a gun to make me say that, I mean every word." 

Geoff stayed quiet for a moment as he though it over. He picked up his beer again and grabbed the gun, moving to stand beside Ryan. "You better do all that and more, because if you hurt him in any way...I will kill you." To put more emphasis on his point, he placed the barrel of the gun against Ryan's head, leaning in. "Don't think I won't, because I will." Ryan flinched as Geoff pulled the trigger, only to have it click uselessly. 

When Geoff had finally holstered his gun and left the room, Ryan let out a breath that he hadn't even noticed he'd been holding. Ryan stood up and headed to the fridge, grabbing out a bottle of water before making his way back to the bedroom once more. He set it on the side table, wrapping his arms around Gavin once he'd slipped into bed once more. The other stirred as he did and turned to face him, giving him a sleepy smile. "Hey you." Gavin mumbled, nuzzling into Ryan's collarbone. 

Ryan smiled down at the man in front of him, kissing the side of his head as he held him close. "I love you." He whispered, grinning wider as he heard Gavin murmur it back as he drifted off once more. He didn't need threats from Geoff to make sure that he kept Gavin safe. All he needed was to feel the man against his skin, listen to the way he breathed in his sleep, saw the way he curled up almost like a cat in order to get comfortable in bed. He glanced over Gavin's head at the chipped mug on the opposite side table. 

All Ryan needed to make this work was to see that mug, and remember everything that had happened. If they could get past everything they've been through in the last two years and the last two weeks, he knew that they could get through everything. 

Ryan would make sure of it.


End file.
